CONTROVERSIAL plans for a privately-run cemetery near Keighley Tarn have been heavily criticised.

Proposals for a site near the beauty spot off Black Hill Lane were publicised for consultation last September, and are this week the subject of a planning application.

The applicant, Keighley Community Cemetery, says the land at the former Braithwaite Edge quarry and landfill site could accommodate 1,500 to 2,000 burial plots.

But Keighley West ward councillor, Brian Morris, said: “Locating a cemetery at the top of the valley is inappropriate – we are not in America and this is not Boot Hill [a common name for burial grounds for gunfighters in the American West].

“The proposed site is riddled with underground streams and the health and safety issues are of great concern. What happens when decomposing body fluids leach out, where a body is not embalmed, and this enters water courses?”

Cllr John Kirby, Keighley town councillor for Laycock and Braithwaite ward, said: “I’m not against new cemeteries but I am against this location. I really don’t think people living near there will accept it. We’ve plenty of other land, so why does it have to be there?”

Keighley West councillor, Jan Smithies, said: “This is in the wrong place, and I’m really concerned about the water run-off.

“There is nowhere else to park up there, so if the car park is full, that would be it. You can get 200 to 300 people at very large funerals.”

Residents wanting to express their views can attend a councillors’ surgery at Braithwaite New Church Hall on January 29. Attendance slots are between 7pm and 9pm.

A Bradford Council spokesman said: “Our latest estimates suggest we have 15 to 20 years general capacity left at Utley Cemetery, although specific Muslim provision may be ten to 15 years.

“These figures are based on historic trends in terms of numbers of new graves required annually.”

But spokesman for the Mineral Planning Group, acting for the applicant, said: “It is our clients’ intention to provide a quality private cemetery facility that supports the local community in finding a compassionate way to remember their loved ones.”

A further statement submitted as part of the application notes: “Bradford as a district, from the information available, appears to have a lack of choice in burial options.

“With increasing competition for land, the proposed cemetery provides brownfield land that can be brought into community use and provide the choice to Keighley residents of private, multi-faith burial.”

If approved, the new cemetery would include 80 parking spaces and a two-storey building to accommodate offices and maintenance equipment.

The agents have said the building that would form part of the cemetery would be designed to fit in with its surroundings.

They have also included a report detailing the drainage infrastructure they would put in place.

The report states: “There are no natural watercourses present within the application boundary. The nearest natural watercourse is some 600 metres to the south west of the site.”