The search is on for a new cemetery in Bradford to help meet burial demand until 2050, and a £7m budget has been set aside for the programme.

Bradford Council’s Executive this week agreed to move forward with the next stage of the District’s Bereavement Strategy, which will involve the creation of a new Muslim cemetery for the city.

A report to members heard that although there has recently been work to create more spaces at the Muslim burial site in Scholemoor and at Bowling Cemetery, there will need to be an entirely new cemetery created to meet the District’s needs in the coming years.

It said that while demand for non-Muslim burials is “manageable” due to more people opting for cremation, “Muslim burial capacity in the south of the District is more in demand given it is the only form of bereavement service possible for the Muslim community.”

On Tuesday the Council Executive approved an additional £3.4m to help find and purchase land for a new cemetery that will provide burial capacity until at least 2050.

That is on top of £3.6m already set aside for the works.

The report to members said there is a requirement for around 420 Muslim burials a year in the South of the District. But by the mid 2030s this is expected to have risen to 450 a year.

The Council’s Bereavement Strategy was updated in 2016 and has so far seen a new crematorium built in Heaton to replace the ageing facility at Nab Wood, the upgrade of Oakworth Crematorium and work is underway on a new crematorium in Bierley that will eventually replace the facility at Scholemoor.

The existing Muslim cemetery at Scholemoor has been expanded, and new cemetery space has been created at Bowling Cemetery.

A report to members says: “Work is ongoing to identify suitable locations for additional burial capacity.

“Once potential sites have been identified detailed investigations, including groundwater assessments, will need to be commissioned in order to confirm suitability and address any constraints before any development can proceed.

“It likely to be a requirement to use statutory powers such as entry notices and compulsory purchase orders where required together with delegated authority to acquire suitable land for new cemeteries by private treaty within the existing capital budget.

“Bearing in mind the land potentially involved would need to be acquired and intrusive ground investigations will take 18-months, experience suggests that development of any potential site to become operational from the current starting point is likely to take several years.”

After the funding was approved at Tuesday’s meeting, Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said: “When people come to this service it is the most tragic time in their lives, so we need to make sure it is the best possible service.”