Deputy Chief Executive – Place decides as follows:

1.       To. Serve notice on the Oxford Preservation Trust of the Council’s intention to enter into the Deed of Release of restrictive covenant relating to the land use and to subsequently make the required premium payment detailed in Appendix 1, including VAT if applicable, as specified in the Deed and enter into the Deed of Release with the Oxford Preservation Trust.[E

The decision will remove the restrictive covenant from the land required for the development of the burial meadow and therefore help enable the construction of the new burial meadow and greenspace on the land owned by Oxford City Council. 

The option to do nothing and not provide new burial space was considered, but was discounted because of:

the risks outlined in the report below

The cradle to grave’ function of a Council. A cemetery is an important place of civic pride, and community cohesion, where families and communities gather to remember their loved ones

The lack of capacity in neighbouring areas for burials and reliance on such would require people to be buried away from their home city.

The likelihood a lack of local burial provision would undermine the City’s status, and growth agenda promoting Oxford as being an attractive place to live and settle, for all the reasons above.  The do-nothing option, not making this decision to construct a new cemetery was also discounted because it undermines the City’s status, and growth agenda promoting Oxford as being an attractive place to live and settle.

The burial meadow will minimise any gap in burial plot provision which is reliant on the normal development process of running works streams in parallel not series.