Houghton Regis Needs A New Cemetery - or does it?
After watching this week's recorded meeting of local councillors in Houghton Regis sitting around the table discussing what to do about a new cemetery - I couldn't help feeling that it's never going to happen.
This weekend, at the Carnival, of all places, the townsfolk will be asked to look out for questionnaires from these councillors asking if they know of any land where one might go? It's that desperate, and that silly!
I suppose it is possible that some local land-owner might at a pinch, pipe up and say, "yes", you can have my plot of land for a cemetery, but if the land was ripe for a cemetery, why would it not also be suitable for housing development? At £1m an acre, or whatever is the current local going rate, housing is a more profitable outlook for a landowner and farmers will prefer to sell it for its full value, rather than to the council at a discount.
The Town Council has given itself this problem to overcome but it hasn't got an answer; and actually, it doesn't even have to have an answer because local authorities are not legally obliged to provide burial space for their residents.
In 2013 a BBC survey found that half of all cemeteries in England would be full in 20 years.
◘ In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, burial space is in such short supply that many people get a plot only for two years. Once that time is up, another body is added.
◘ Hackney and Tower Hamlets, have already stopped providing burials in their boroughs altogether.
Last year, Bicester, a town of 30,000, had just 36 unreserved burial plots left, and another 23 for cremated remains and they were hoping that a plan to build 10,000 new homes (sounds familiar?) with 40% green space would give them a new cemetery to last them 200 years.
Well, that might yet work for them. The trouble is Houghton Regis is in a very chalky area, and these days it isn't going to sit well with the Environment Agency. It's not as if a burial is anywhere near being eco-friendly.
I suppose it is possible that some local land-owner might at a pinch, pipe up and say, "yes", you can have my plot of land for a cemetery, but if the land was ripe for a cemetery, why would it not also be suitable for housing development? At £1m an acre, or whatever is the current local going rate, housing is a more profitable outlook for a landowner and farmers will prefer to sell it for its full value, rather than to the council at a discount.
The Town Council has given itself this problem to overcome but it hasn't got an answer; and actually, it doesn't even have to have an answer because local authorities are not legally obliged to provide burial space for their residents.
In 2013 a BBC survey found that half of all cemeteries in England would be full in 20 years.
So what are we going to do?
Shortage of space is not just a local problem, it's a world problem.◘ In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, burial space is in such short supply that many people get a plot only for two years. Once that time is up, another body is added.
◘ Hackney and Tower Hamlets, have already stopped providing burials in their boroughs altogether.
Last year, Bicester, a town of 30,000, had just 36 unreserved burial plots left, and another 23 for cremated remains and they were hoping that a plan to build 10,000 new homes (sounds familiar?) with 40% green space would give them a new cemetery to last them 200 years.
Well, that might yet work for them. The trouble is Houghton Regis is in a very chalky area, and these days it isn't going to sit well with the Environment Agency. It's not as if a burial is anywhere near being eco-friendly.
Embalming fluid is highly toxic, and those toxins can leach into the soil and air. Formaldehyde is a key ingredient in embalming fluid and is a carcinogen and a potential risk to those who work in burial services. In a new cemetery, the grave itself will require expensive lining to avoid the water table becoming polluted.
And then, there is the cost to people's purse strings, given that any land purchased for a cemetery will need to be financed, and a suitable charge placed on relatives of the deceased to meet that cost.
Even lands for sale at the western side of Houghton Regis, towards Totternhoe, have this chalk problem, notwithstanding the problem of suitable access for motor vehicles, and water supply.
Then there are so-called green burials: With a green burial park, best practice suggests that caskets or burial shrouds should be biodegradable, and toxic embalming fluids are prohibited. Grave markers, if desired, should be made from local stone or wood and ideally be placed flat on the ground.
Even lands for sale at the western side of Houghton Regis, towards Totternhoe, have this chalk problem, notwithstanding the problem of suitable access for motor vehicles, and water supply.
What else can be done?
Graves can be re-used. The City of London Cemetery had, in 2016, already re-used 1,500 graves. In most cases, this involves deepening the grave so the original remains are lower in the ground and making a second burial on top. But that needs a very sensitive approach.Then there are so-called green burials: With a green burial park, best practice suggests that caskets or burial shrouds should be biodegradable, and toxic embalming fluids are prohibited. Grave markers, if desired, should be made from local stone or wood and ideally be placed flat on the ground.
In Berlin, cemeteries are being converted to parks, and people are opting for cremations with urns buried in forests at the foot of a tree. The Capsula Mundi is an egg-shaped, organic casket that's suitable for ashes, too. Once buried, the biodegradable plastic shell breaks down and the remains provide nutrients to a sapling planted right above it.
And then there are cremations, but you still need to bear in mind that in Islam, and most forms of Judaism, cremation is prohibited. Even cremations are not without their environmental costs. Older dental fillings can release polluting mercury, which is why some crematoriums have installed mercury filters. Cremation fires produce pollutants when certain materials in the body melt.
Where cemeteries exist, up and down our land, many are in disarray as the local authority has no funds to maintain them. In Virginia and Maryland, all cemetery companies need to set up a perpetual care fund, which is a pool of money used to maintain the cemetery grounds.
Elsewhere, there are other solutions; Paris has more than six million people buried in ossuaries underneath the streets; New Orleans has rows and rows of mausoleums because much of the land is below sea level.
And then there are cremations, but you still need to bear in mind that in Islam, and most forms of Judaism, cremation is prohibited. Even cremations are not without their environmental costs. Older dental fillings can release polluting mercury, which is why some crematoriums have installed mercury filters. Cremation fires produce pollutants when certain materials in the body melt.
Where cemeteries exist, up and down our land, many are in disarray as the local authority has no funds to maintain them. In Virginia and Maryland, all cemetery companies need to set up a perpetual care fund, which is a pool of money used to maintain the cemetery grounds.
Elsewhere, there are other solutions; Paris has more than six million people buried in ossuaries underneath the streets; New Orleans has rows and rows of mausoleums because much of the land is below sea level.
