Plans by billionaires to build Europe's biggest Muslim cemetery 'at odds with ...

Plans by billionaires to build Europe's biggest Muslim cemetery 'at odds with ...
Plans by billionaires to build Europe's biggest Muslim cemetery 'at odds with ...

Plans by the billionaire owners of Asda to build Europe's biggest Muslim cemetery have been blasted by a council conservation officer.

A report into the proposed 35,000-plot cemetery in the West Pennines in Lancashire has stated it would be 'at odds' with the local heritage.

In a report, Hyndburn Council said the 'visual unity' of the surrounding countryside 'would be lost' if the 84-acre Issa Memorial Garden was built.

The proposed cemetery, funded by the charitable arm of billionaire brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa, is set to cover a space the size of 40 football pitches.

This site, close to the small town of Oswaldtwistle, Blackburn, Lancs., would dwarf the current largest Muslim cemetery, The Garden of Peace, north London, which holds 10,000 plots.

Thousands of locals have objected to the plans so far, citing concerns over congestion and its potential affects on wildlife.

Now, council officials have raised their own concerns about the burial ground, which is due to feature a 'funeral parlour', caretaker accommodation and over 660 car parking spaces.

A report written by the council's conservation officer says the new development 'is visually at odds with the historic landscape.'

The cemetery would be funded by the charity of billionaire brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa

The cemetery would be funded by the charity of billionaire brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa

The 84-acre Issa Memorial Garden would be built to the west of Blackburn, Lancs., and will have 35,000 burial plots

The 84-acre Issa Memorial Garden would be built to the west of Blackburn, Lancs., and will have 35,000 burial plots

It adds: 'The present visual unity of the Green Belt countryside would be lost, and the cemetery would separate the fields of Cow Hill from the surviving fields of Stand Hill.'

'The cut and fill of the proposed development would destroy any archaeological or other heritage assets which lie within the boundary of the site.

'The scheme would divert the two historic tracks, which are public footpaths, and harm the rural setting of heritage assets

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