Burial Provision in Dewsbury and North Kirklees

Kirklees Council is looking to develop suitable land in the Dewsbury area for a new multi-faith cemetery. The information below aims to help you understand how and why the council is doing this work.

What burial space does the council have in North Kirklees?

The council manages seven cemeteries in North Kirklees: Batley, Cleckheaton (new), Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Liversedge, Earlsheaton and Cleckheaton (old), with the latter two closed to new burials.

How much space is available for burials?

Several years of supply is available for burials in North Kirklees for people of all faiths, and none. However, as of January 2026, only two plots remain available specifically for Muslim burials in Dewsbury Cemetery.

What is the council doing about it?

The council is committed to finding appropriate land and building a new multi-faith cemetery in the Dewsbury area to accommodate burials for all faiths for the long term.

Are there other options available for residents in the meantime?

Councils aren't the only organisations that can provide burial space. In Dewsbury, the Muslim Burial Council of North Kirklees has announced that it will shortly be able to provide burial space on land adjacent to Dewsbury Cemetery. This will increase the options available to people in Dewsbury.

Council-run cemeteries at Batley and Heckmondwike also both have several years of capacity to accommodate burials.

What has the council already done to increase capacity?

Batley Cemetery has been extended twice to increase capacity and extra space is being made available at Heckmondwike to accommodate any additional demand. Residents who wish to be buried in Kirklees will be able to have their wishes respected.

What happens now?

The council has been auditing council-owned land to identify suitable sites for a new cemetery. It has also investigated local suggestions for potential sites. None of these sites so far meet the complex criteria that need to be fulfilled for a new cemetery.

Work is therefore ongoing to identify an appropriate site and the council has made funding available for this. Once suitable land is found, proposals to create a new cemetery will go through the public and independent planning process before development work can take place.

How will you keep people informed?

We will keep elected representatives and members of the public informed throughout the process to build the new cemetery. In addition, all planning and budget decisions must be carried out publicly and transparently.

The council also participates in a local Bereavement Forum, a multi-faith group that brings together representatives of the funeral sector and the council to help plan and discuss future bereavement and burial provision across Kirklees.

Is Kirklees Council legally required to provide burial space?

No. There is no legal duty for councils to provide burial space. However, the council is committed to ensuring that any resident can be buried in Kirklees if that is their wish. That is why the council is seeking new burial space to serve Dewsbury.