Petition signed by 3,000 opposes crematorium for park

CAMPAIGNERS HAVE pleaded with councillors to drop a park from a list of potential sites for a new crematorium, after submitting the biggest petition the authority “has ever heard”.

The Friends of Littlemoor Park presented a petition signed by almost 3,000 people to a meeting of Bradford Council on Tuesday night. The park in the Queensbury area of the district has been identified as one of two potential sites for a proposed new crematorium in the south of the district to replace the ageing Scholemoor Crematorium.

But the plans have been met with a backlash from the community. The park was gifted to the people of Queensbury by the Foster family, and many in the area were outraged that the council would even consider the site to build a new crematorium.

Another potential site being considered is privately-owned, but has not been disclosed by the council for commercial reasons.

The authority had previously said it would prefer to build on the private site, but was still considering Littlemore Park as a possibility. Coun Robert Hargreaves, for Queensbury, said he initially thought the park would be a “wonderful place to say final farewells to people we love”.

But he added: “Queensbury has made its feelings on this subject very clear. This is the largest petition the council has ever heard.”

The plans are part of a £17m overhaul of bereavement services in the district.