Crematorium and Natural Burial Ground for Leeds and Wakefield

Westerleigh Group is one of the UK’s leading independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, currently operating forty-one crematoria and a number of cemeteries and burial grounds throughout the UK.

Our purpose is to provide exceptional care in a beautiful setting, so families and friends can remember, mourn and celebrate the lives of their loved ones in a way that is uniquely personal to them.

What sets us apart is that we offer access to a different choice of funeral experience, one that offers privacy and seclusion, flexibility to allow personalisation, quality of facilities, and importantly sufficient time for the funeral service without feeling rushed.

We would also appreciate your comments, feedback and your support for our proposals. This can be given by signing the online petition on this link.

Meeting Today's Needs

Why Leeds and Wakefield

Despite its large and growing populations, crematoria provision within Leeds and Wakefield is currently underprovided, and offers bereaved families a relatively poor qualitative experience.

Currently the area is served by three crematoria operated by Leeds City Council and two crematoria operated by Wakefield District Council. To meet demand, funeral service operate on a standard 40 or 45 minute timetable and time in the chapel for the actual funeral service is restricted to just 20 minutes, offering little or no time for personalisation. This leads to funerals overlapping, with mourners often having a lack of privacy (clashing with the previous funeral on entry and the next funeral on exit). It also often means that there is insufficient time within the chapel and/or the floral tribute area, with the funeral service feeling rushed.

As well as strain of too much demand, the quality of experience offered by the existing provision also reflects the age of the facilities and the lack of investment and updating over the years. Lawnswood Crematorium opened 1905, Cottingley Crematorium opened 1938 and Rawdon Crematorium opened in 1959. In Wakefield district, Pontefract Crematorium opened 1959 and Wakefield opened in 1961.

All were designed for a different era and a different type of funeral service from that of today’s needs. Many facilities associated with a modern crematorium are either just not provided or are inadequate.

Having regard to an increasingly aging as well as growing population, demand for cremation services in Leeds and Wakefield is set to increase significantly over the next 20 years and the existing quantitative and qualitative Need will get progressively worse.

The Need for a Natural Burial Ground in the Area

Despite the increasing demand for natural burial in the UK, there is currently no natural burial sites within the either the metropolitan borough of Leeds or Wakefield. Currently bereaved families who want natural burial do not have that choice.

Site Location

Wakefield Road, Oulton, Leeds. LS26 8EL

An extensive search has been undertaken over a number of years to find an appropriate and suitable sustainable location, one that is suitable both as a crematorium and as a burial ground.

By virtue of the unique siting constraints contained in the 1902 Cremation Act, all new crematoria are effectively built on in open countryside/greenbelt and all potentially suitable sites to serve Leeds and Wakefield are therefore within the designated green belt surrounding the urban areas. Significant constraints also now exist restricting land suitable for burial.

The site extends to around 20 acres, utilises an existing established vehicle access point (accessing the former off-road centre which has been the subject of extensive fly tipping) and the front part of the site recently benefited from planning consent for a cemetery (the site being suitable for burial).

The site on land off the A642 Wakefield Road in Oulton, Leeds is located circa 6 miles south-east of Leeds and 5 miles north of Wakefield and is in an area which fills a gap in current provision, complementing the location of the existing Crematoria provision in the wider area. It is easily accessible both by car and public transport and whilst just on the edge of the urban area the development will still be set a significant distance from local housing, Oulton Academy and other developed land uses.

Whilst the site will be extensively landscaped as part of the development proposals it is already reasonably well screened with limited existing views into the site. The proposal will also make significant improvement to the visual impact of the existing site entrance.

Highways and Accessibility

Travel to crematorium and burial grounds are usually by car (car sharing being recognised as a sustainable mode of travel) and vehicle access to the site would be via the existing entrance off the A642 Wakefield Road. As part of a scheme of highway improvements, a right turn lane for northbound traffic will also be provided, similar to the scheme approved as part of the previous cemetery planning consent.

However, access by both public transport and walking/cycling to the site is also feasible. Pedestrian access into the site will also be from this location along with a further access slightly further south linked to a new pedestrian crossing point. A third pedestrian access point will also be created at the southwestern corner of the site where the public footpath crosses Wakefield Road and connected to the adjoining existing bus stop.

The site will provide parking for up to 136 car parking spaces (including overflow), provision for coach parking, electric charging points and cycle stands.

Typically, most funerals take place between 11am to 4pm (outside the road network peak hours) with service intervals of one hour and average number of attendees of around 40 (circa 20 vehicles per funeral).

A full transport assessment has been undertaken which will be submitted as part of the planning application.

The Design and Landscape

The overall concept of the scheme is one of a crematorium and natural burial ground set into the site and surrounded by woodland and other planting which will provide both long term screening and assimilate the scheme into its local environment.

The design intention is that the proposed building is located in the position where it is screened in the short to medium term from the A642 Wakefield Road to the west (by the combination of existing and proposed planting along the east side of the road); and is screened from the footpaths along the southern and eastern boundaries by hedgerows and woodland planting in the short to medium term and memorial tree planting on site over the longer term.

The proposed building has been thoughtfully designed to blend seamlessly with its natural surroundings, creating a harmonious relationship between the built environment and the landscape. Drawing on natural materials the intention is for the structure to integrate into the surrounding area. The scale and massing of the modest single storey building is designed to respect the surrounding landscape context and materials chosen to respect local character and blend within the landscape.

The building itself and the one-way circulation and flow around and within the building have all been carefully designed to enhance the service experience and maximise the sense of privacy and tranquillity.

The large porte cochere with adjacent waiting room provides a sense of arrival and cover whilst waiting for the funeral service to start and access into the chapel itself is via a lobby that along with the waiting room can be opened into the chapel to accommodate large funerals.

The chapel itself provides a beautiful and tranquil ceremony space that is designed to be flexible to allow personalisation of funeral services. A moveable catafalque that can either be recessed or brought out into the room, seating layouts that can be changed and the latest audio and visual technology offers many options.

Exit from the chapel is into a generous covered private floral tribute area and a separate route back to the car parking areas.

For witnessed cremations a separate dedicated access also provides a viewing area into the crematory.

The burial ground is designed as a separate extensive area of natural meadow and woodland to the rear of the site, forming part of the natural landscape and providing significant enhanced wildlife habitats.

Our New Crematorium at Your Service

The proposed crematorium and natural burial ground will offer local communities and bereaved families the choice of a different type of funeral experience, one that will offer something different from current provision:

Longer standard service times based on 60 minutes intervals and time in chapel of 40-50 minutes – allowing sufficient time for each individual funeral and ample time in chapel without feeling rushed or a lack of privacy.
A purpose-built modern crematorium set in natural landscaped grounds and carefully designed with a flow around the building to enhance the service experience and maximise the sense of tranquillity.
A modern high-quality chapel providing flexibility to provide an intimate setting for small funerals and sufficient seating/standing space and associated facilities such as car parking to accommodate the largest funerals.
Ample on-site car parking, covered waiting and covered floral tribute areas.
Flexible chapel and seating layouts with state-of-the-art immersive media technology with themed backgrounds for a uniquely personal service.
A separate viewing area for witnessed cremations – better meeting the needs of the local Hindu and Sikh communities.
A changing places facility for those in the community who cannot use standard accessible toilets.
An environmentally sustainable cremation option with full ‘clean to air’ abatement technology including Nox and generating biodiversity net gain.
A local natural burial option for the very first time with the option of having a chapel service on site at the same time.
Easily accessible within a reasonable cortege travel time and offering a more sustainable travel option particularly for those communities living within East Leeds, South Leeds and the northern side of Wakefield district.
Availability of weekend services.

The additional capacity provided by the new crematorium will also have a positive impact on provision in the wider area, relieving pressure on the five existing crematoria, allowing more available time slots at those facilities, reducing funeral delays in busy periods and giving families more choice of their preferred date and time for a service.

Environment and Sustainability

Aside from the significant benefits arising just from the net reduction in mourners journey distances and times from those communities in East and South Leeds and northern side of Wakefield district that currently have to travel much further to access the existing crematoria in the area, the scheme has been designed to minimise its impact on the environment and be one of the most environmentally friendly crematorium and burial grounds in the UK.

Features include the latest advanced hybrid gas and electric cremators with full abatement technology including Nox), sustainable drainage system, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, enhanced wildlife habits and biodiversity (generating a biodiversity net gain) and significant areas of native planting.

The natural burial ground will also provide local communities for the first time with an environmentally friendly burial option within a natural landscape setting.

Your comments, views and suggestions

Anyone who would like to find out more about this development is welcome to attend a public consultation event on Monday 7 April at Oulton Hall Hotel, Rothwell Lane, Oulton, LS26 8HN, between 3pm and 7.30pm.

We would also appreciate your comments, feedback and your support for our proposals. This can be given by signing the online petition on this link.