Council propose weekend burial service
Image L-R: Cllr Britcliffe, Cllr Younis, Cllr Haworth, Cllr Mahmood, Khazar Din, Sara Britcliffe MP, Cllr Mahmood, Cllr Smithson at Accrington Cemetery]
Tomorrow (Wednesday 21 June), Hyndburn’s Cabinet will vote on proposals for a weekend burial service to come to Hyndburn for the first time. The plans would facilitate short notice burials, particularly for religious requirements, and offer families more opportunity for funeral services and burials locally.
Over the years residents have highlighted the local need for weekend burials in Hyndburn. In Autumn 2022 this initiative was supported by portfolio holder, Cllr Steven Smithson, and discussions with council staff commenced.
In February 2023 a tender for this service was publicised and a due diligence phase then undertaken. A full report on the offer of a weekend burial service for Hyndburn is now being received by Hyndburn’s Cabinet for approval on Wednesday 21 June.
Cllr Steven Smithson, Deputy Leader of Hyndburn Council, said:
“I know this is something residents have wanted for our borough for a long time and they have contacted the council, myself and our MP Sara Britcliffe about offering a weekend burial service.
“I am incredibly proud to have been able to move these plans forward after several months of working alongside our cemetery officers and local ward councillors, Cllr Sajid Mahmood and Cllr Mohammed Younis.
The majority of coffin burials are undertaken during weekday usual working hours. As staff are not contracted to routinely work weekends any burials on Saturdays or Sundays are dependent on overtime availability and cannot always be facilitated.
In some religions (e.g. Islam and Judaism) there is a religious requirement that people are buried as soon as possible after the bereavement. This often means families turn to neighbouring local authorities for burial services to be held at weekends or on bank holidays.
Cllr Smithson continued:
“I would like to thank the local community and officers for making these proposed plans possible. It will make a real difference to so many families and I anticipate we would be able to get this new service in place by Autumn this year.”