Cambridge Independent, 2nd June 2025
East Cambridgeshire District Council Announces New Bereavement Centre near Mepal: A Peaceful Place for Remembrance, Nature, and Community
East Cambridgeshire District Council has officially approved the development of a new Bereavement Centre near Mepal, designed not only to provide compassionate end-of-life services but to serve as a publicly accessible green space for residents.
This project is about so much more than the crematorium. This is about securing, protecting and enhancing a beautiful, much loved and special site for the community, now and into the future. As a designated wildlife site with nationally important species using it as home the site is unique; we have been working with The Wildlife Trust who are really pleased with the management plans we have developed.
The site will be an environmental and community sanctuary - open and accessible to all. Here’s what it includes:
· Eco-friendly cremator – the greenest of its kind
· Natural burial areas – for those who want to return to the earth gently
· Pet cemetery area – because animals are family too
· Woodland walks & flower meadows – open to the public year-round
· Fishing and bird watching areas – for peace, reflection, and recreation
· Function room – for family gatherings, remembrance events, and community use
· Limited number of services a day – so every family has time and space
Why now? Why here?
· There is no facility like this in our district. Local families currently travel long distances during difficult times
· We’re protecting and enhancing biodiversity on a site of national environmental importance
· We are not borrowing or raising Council Tax to pay for it – it’s fully funded from developer contributions (Community Infrastructure Levy) given for just this kind of project
· The Centre will provide income to the Council from year two onwards, helping us protect local services
We’ve frozen the District Council’s part of Council Tax for 12 years - and projects like this help us keep it that way.
Despite political opposition from the Liberal Democrat and Independent Group, the Council remains confident that the project reflects the values and long-term needs of the local community. This is about doing the right thing, in the right way, for generations to come and I am incredibly excited to see the project getting underway and to the Bereavement Centre opening around this time next year.
Losing a loved one and facing grief is hard. We have an amazing opportunity in an incredible setting to support people at a time of need, and I hope and believe this will become a much-loved facility, that people return to, to pause and reflect and to remember their loved ones.
Anna Bailey
East Cambs District Council, Member for the Downham Ward
Leader of the Council
Deputy Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
Chairman of East Cambs Community Land Trust
Deputy Chair Political of Ely & East Cambridgeshire Conservative Association
