Overview
- Councillor Zak Khan and activist Vinette Davitt proposed turning the greenbelt farmland between Oswaldtwistle and Blackburn into a nature reserve, but the Issa Foundation declined the idea.
- The latest cemetery scheme, withdrawn in October, had been scaled back to 45 acres with 12,250 grave plots and a single pavilion with 387 parking spaces.
- Hyndburn planning officers twice recommended refusal, citing nine reasons including inappropriate development in the greenbelt, harm to protected trees, and an unacceptable risk to groundwater.
- The foundation says it remains committed to a cemetery, will continue farming and site maintenance, and has begun repairing boundary fences and addressing fly-tipping and antisocial behaviour.
- If approved at the scaled-down size, the site would exceed the Gardens of Peace in east London in capacity, and although the foundation has signalled it intends to reapply, no new application date has been confirmed.