A PLAN for a multi-faith cemetery that was rejected nine years ago is back on the table.

The Blackburn with Darwen Muslim Cemetery Trust have held meetings with officials in the Ribble Valley over the plans for the cemetery on land off the A59, near Langho.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The same people were behind plans for a cemetery in the same location, near to Northcote Manor, in 2005, which were rejected by councillors in February of the following year after traffic concerns.

Although a planning application is yet to be submitted this time around, Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans believes the same highways concerns will lead to anger from local residents, and he said the infrastructure around the site was not good enough.

Sabir Esa brought the land, an unused fallow field, for under £200,000 and has now formally handed it over to the Blackburn with Darwen Muslim Cemetery Trust, of which he is a key member.

He said: “I’m involved in a consultancy capacity because I have the experience of the planning application and design process from 10 years ago, and it is a very similar design.

“There is a great need for this now. Blackburn with Darwen is at saturation point.

“I would point out that this is not just for Muslims, though. It is open to all member of the community, it is a multi-faith burial ground and it is being run by a non-profit charity.”

The trust has held a meeting with the Lancashire Council of Mosques, which has added their backing to the scheme.

Abdul Hamid Qureshi, chair of the council, said: “The cemetery at Pleasington is filling up very quickly. There is very little space left. The trust has been created because there is a real need for another cemetery.”

Earlier this month Mr Esa met Mr Evans and Ribble Valley council leader Stuart Hirst on the site to discuss the plans.

Mr Evans said: “I am very conscious that there is a fully operational business next door that is one of the great magnets in the Ribble Valley. I don’t want to see any harm come to what is a vibrant business.”