Plans lodged to expand cemetery as space set to run out
11/02/2026
The new area would have room for around 3,000 burials
Banbury Town Council has applied for planning permission to change the use of the field to the north of Hardwick Hill cemetery so it can be used for burials.
The council owns the field, which is between the existing cemetery and the M40. Its currently used by a tenant farmer.
In a Design and Access Statement its noted that: “… it is possible to predict that by 2026, the Town Council will have completely run out of burial space”.
The council has successfully applied for change of use planning permission for the field on two previous occasions – in 2015 and 2018 – but on both occasions failed to implement the change within three years, at which point planning permission expired.
The new site would create around 3,000 more burial plots which is expected to be adequate for the next 15-20 years.
The Design and Access Statement says the Council completed a needs assessment. Currently plots are being used at an average rate of 74.6 per year, but population growth in the town is predicted to substantially increase this.
Additionally it noted they had taken into account an increasing local Muslim population, who require burials as cremations are culturally prohibited.
Its anticipated a decision on the application will be made by the start of April.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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