Plans for new Shrewsbury remembrance park to go on display
The plans for a proposed new Remembrance Park at Bowbrook in Shrewsbury will go on display for the first time on Tuesday 30 October.
With Emstrey cemetery on London Road due to close to new burials in around three years’ time, the new Remembrance Park would enable Shropshire Council and its bereavement services contractor, The Co-operative, to continue to provide burial services to the people of Shropshire. It will also provide an opportunity for woodland burials which are becoming more popular, and include areas for quiet reflection.
Drop-in information sessions will be held on Tuesday 30 October at Copthorne Scout and Guide hut in Rad Valley Road from 4.30pm to 6.30pm; and on Wednesday 7 November at Bicton Heath Community Hall from 3.30pm to 6.30pm.
At each event, plans and artist’s impressions of the new Remembrance Park will be on display, and staff from Shropshire Council and The Co-operative will be on hand to explain more about the plans and answer any questions.
The plans will also be on display at both Shirehall and The Guildhall in Shrewsbury from Wednesday 31 October 2012 to Tuesday 6 November 2012 , and they can be viewed on the Shropshire Council website from 31 October 2012, at shropshire.gov.uk/remembrancepark.
The plans have been drawn up by Axis, the design consultants for the development of the site.
Local residents are also being asked to suggest a name for the new Remembrance Park. Suggestions can be left at one of the drop-in sessions, at displays at Shirehall or The Guildhall, or can be sent by email to communications@shropshire.gov.uk. All suggestions will be considered before a final name is chosen.
A planning application for the park is due to be submitted in late November 2012, and it is hoped planning permission will be granted in early 2013. Construction work would then begin in spring 2013, with the Remembrance Park scheduled to open in spring 2014.
Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for bereavement services, said:
“We’re really pleased with the designs that have been drawn up by Axis for the new Remembrance Park and I hope people will take the opportunity to see the plans for themselves, to find out more, and even to suggest a name for the new park.”
The site for the new Remembrance Park is currently a greenfield site close to the B4386 Mytton Oak Road and the A5, and near to the Bowbrook allotments. It was chosen as the most suitable site as it is the right size, is in a quiet area, will have good access from main roads, is close to the crematorium and to the chapel at the Longden Road cemetery, and meets a number of environmental conditions.
It is estimated that developing the new site would cost £1.1million, and this sum is included within the council’s capital programme.
