Oxford City Council has agreed to progress with plans to create a new burial meadow, allocating nearly £2.5m to the project. 

The plans will see a new public meadow and burial site created in 17 acres of land off Oxford Road.

The burial meadow will feature trees, wildflower meadows and paths linking to Shotover Woods.

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The site will also be large enough to accommodate about 45 years of burials, though the amount of space on site available for burials is subject to planning permission.

This is Oxfordshire: Picture of the burial site planPicture of the burial site plan (Image: Oxford City Council)

The city council’s cabinet approved the proposals and allocated £2.4m to deliver the scheme at a meeting last night (September 13).

The city council, which owns the land, will now seek planning permission from South Oxfordshire District Council.

Councillor Chewe Munkonge, deputy leader and cabinet member for leisure and parks, said: “Oxford Burial Meadow will create a peaceful burial site in a natural landscape setting, and will provide burials for Oxford residents of all faiths and cultures for decades to come.

This is Oxfordshire: Councillor Chewe Munkonge Councillor Chewe Munkonge (Image: Oxford City Council)

“The consultation brought forward some really good ideas for improving the outline designs, and we would like to thank everyone who took part.”

Oxford is running out of new burial plots.

This is Oxfordshire: Burial meadow design

The 17-acres of land off Oxford Road, which is used for farming, was found to be the most suitable for a new site.

The city council carried out a public consultation on the proposals in July, which found that 91 per cent of respondents were in favour of the scheme.

Oxford City Council is aiming to submit a planning application this autumn.