New Lancashire cemetrey bid by billionaire Issa brothers in Oswaldtwistle has been withdrawn
The latest version of a proposal by the billionaire Issa brothers’ charitable arm to build a controversial new cemetery on land between Oswaldtwistle and Blackburn has been withdrawn after councillors were urged to reject it.
The scaled-back scheme was due to be debated by Hyndburn planning committee on Wednesday afternoon, writes LDRS reporter Bill Jacobs.
But following the publication of an officer’s report recommending councillors refuse the proposal, the Issa Foundation has withdrawn its application for permission.
The original October 2021 application for land off Blackburn Road, near West End Business Park on the outskirts of Oswaldtwistle, was withdrawn in January 2022 after a wave of protests from nearby residents at the scale of the proposals.
In October last year, the foundation – the charity created by Blackburn brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa who founded the petrol forecourt giant EG Group – submitted a new scheme to Hyndburn Council.
It reduced the size of the cemetery from 84 acres to 45, cut the number of grave plots from 35,000 to 12,250, proposed 387 parking spaces, and planned a single pavilion instead of several.
The new scheme generated 1,415 objections with several speakers scheduled to oppose the proposal next week.
But a report to Wednesday’s committee by the council’s head of planning and transportation Adam Birkett recommended councillors reject the scheme, leading to the Issa Foundation withdrawing the application.
Local St Oswald’s ward councillor and Hyndburn Council Conservative group leader Zak Khan urged the charity to now drop the whole proposal and vowed to fight any bid to revive it.
Mr Birkett’s report says: “The application site is currently free of existing built form and has a strong degree of openness.
“The proposal would introduce multiple buildings, over 350 car parking spaces and an internal road, which would significantly harm the openness of the Green Belt in spatial and visual terms.
“The application site occupies around 690metres of the around 975m gap between the towns of Accrington/Oswaldtwistle and Blackburn or 71 per cent, which is a substantial part of the gap.
“There would no longer be any perceptible or meaningful separation of the towns.
“The proposal would fundamentally conflict with and undermine the strong contribution that the application site makes to checking the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas, preventing neighbouring towns merging into one another and assisting in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.
“The proposal would constitute inappropriate development in the Green Belt.
“The very formal, uncompromising design of the proposal, with square plateaus formed on the sloping hillside, makes it very difficult for this design to be incorporated into the landscape.
“In conclusion, the proposal conflicts with the development plan.
“While the benefits of the proposal, including meeting a qualitative need with regard to the specific burial requirements of the Islamic faith, are acknowledged, they do not outweigh the conflict with the plan identified.”
Cllr Khan said: “The withdrawal of the cemetery planning application is nothing short of cowardly.
“Rather than face the community, the applicants have chosen to run.
“It’s a blatant attempt to avoid embarrassment.
“If they thought their plans were so right, they should’ve had the backbone to defend them publicly and defend the anxiety and frustration they have put on the Oswaldtwistle community for years.
“I say, give the land to the residents of Oswaldtwistle so that we can create our own open green space.
“This should be the end of their attempts to build on this land but no matter what happens, we will continue to fight.”
The Issa Foundation has been approached for comment.