Lake View Bereavement Centre Opening - 10/9/2026
Cllr Anna Bailey's Speech On The Opening of Lake View Bereavement Centre
Thank you all, so much, for joining us today.
This is a really proud and special moment for everyone that has been involved in
bringing Lake View Bereavement Centre to life.
This site is unique. A former gravel quarry, then a much loved site of fun and
activity as an outdoor centre - I’ve done my time floating around on various small
inflatable crafts on and in the lake - and now a home for wildlife and a place of
peace, tranquillity and support for the people of East Cambridgeshire.
Our ambition was to create something more than a crematorium. We wanted to
create a place where families could take the time they need to say goodbye,
where people could return to remember those they love, and where the beauty of
nature could offer comfort during life’s most difficult moments.
The cycle of life is evident all around us - that feeling is deeply comforting. There
is something special about being able to sit beside the lake, surrounded by trees,
birds and wildlife, and simply have time to think. We hope that connection with
nature will become part of the way people remember and celebrate the lives of
those they have lost.
Thank you to all those that have helped to create this special place. We have had
a fantastic experience with all our design, project management and build
partners who have helped us to realise our vision. And this has been such a
wonderful council wide effort – so many parts of the council have been involved.
Thank you to Alistair Merrick who supported the project in the very early days – he
spent countless hours trudging about on the site in winter, overseeing dozens of
site surveys and helping us to understand the unique nature of this site as a
sanctuary for wildlife.
Thank you to all our Senior directors, especially Isabel who brought her very
considerable experience to bear at the exact time we needed it and helped us to
have the belief that this place will be a success.
Thank you to the planners, particularly Catherine, and to Amy, the ecologist, and
to Dave in our Building Control team.
Thanks to Sally and all those involved in securing the finances – we have built this
amazing place with no borrowing and no financial burden to the people of East
Cambridgeshire.
Thank you to Lucy for her superb project management skills.
And to Spencer and his grounds staff.
To all the staff that joined the litter picks.
And thank you of course to all our partners – to Benchmark our architects for
their amazing design, to our Project Managers, Luke and Matt at Bidwells, and to
Scott and all at Kier for doing such a brilliant and exacting job in building this
place.
Thanks to our small but amazing comms team, Annalise and Mel who have a
special talent in saying things simply, clearly and beautifully.
And to Marta and the creative team – the logo and the truly lovely website were all
designed in house by East Cambs staff. They really have done us proud.
And, of course, to Marisa and her new team who have come to run this special
place for us. The buildings and the gardens are wonderful, but it will be the
people who work here who will really make Lake View special. I know that Marisa
and her team understand that, and I am enormously grateful to them for being
part of the next chapter of this project and for hosting us here today.
Thank you to my fellow Councillors, past and present, for your support and belief
in this project – Lake View is here because of you.
My final thank-you is a personal one, although sadly it is for someone that can’t
be here with us today. From the very beginning Jo Brooks had the inspiration, the
vision and the belief that this place could be something special. Thank you to
Jo…who helped to make this place. We are delighted to have Jo’s Mum and
husband here with us today.
This has been a remarkable project for East Cambridgeshire. I hope we can all
look back at today as the start of something that will make a real and lasting
difference to our community.
Lake View belongs to the people of East Cambridgeshire, and whether they are
arranging a funeral, attending one of our bereavement cafés, walking through the
memorial gardens or simply finding a moment of peace beside the lake, we hope
this will become a valued community asset for generations to come.
