A council says a 'compromise' has been reached over the planting of trees and shrubs on graves in the new Muslim section of a cemetery.

It follows an initial consultation with mosque representatives across Blackburn and Darwen.

In April, concerns were raised over new rulings families would have to sign up to at the Muslim section of the Pleasington cemetery.

Updates to the existing terms and conditions had been proposed with a form to be completed and signed by the bereaved family. It asked people, among other things, to detail the number of people attending.

However, rulings that said people would not be able to plant shrubs or place flowers on the graves proved to be most controversial.

The Blackburn Muslim Burial Society (BMBS), which is run by volunteers had already raised objections to some of the proposals.

Further proposals said people will not be permitted to make the grave area ‘larger’ and all ‘memorialisation must be permitted by BRAMM (British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons) / NAMM (National Association of Memorial Masons) regulations only with written permission from the council’. All mounds must be ‘no more than six inches tall. Any mounds found to be greater must be reduced immediately.’

This relates to the new section being a lawned area and consistent with the rest of the plots nearby.

Following an initial consultation the council said that officers had met with mosque and community representatives and people would be able to plant shrubs in pots alongside the graves.

The council revealed at the old site ‘130 trees have had to be removed from graves because the tree roots had compromised the graves’.

Speaking on behalf of the council Deputy Leader, Cllr Quesir Mahmood said: “Through our recent consultation around burial arrangements at Pleasington Cemetery, we’ve listened to the views of many local residents and mosque representatives, and we have amended the rules where appropriate.

“Together with council officers in our cemeteries team, I met with representatives from the mosques to discuss the feedback we received during the consultation period. The meeting was positive and we reached agreement on the majority of points raised.

“One point which did elicit a lot of feedback was the recommendation that no flowers, plants or trees should be planted on graves.

“The council had consulted on this point specifically as in the past two years over 130 trees have had to be removed from graves because the tree roots had compromised the grave, and in some cases adjacent graves.

“It was suggested by some mosques that, rather than planting directly on the grave, families plant flowers or a shrub in a pot sited at the top of the grave adjacent to where the headstone would be located.

“The council is happy to agree to this compromise and has amended our rules of interment to reflect this, for all burials regardless of faith.”

The council this week also clarified that the practice of allowing the laying of fresh flowers on graves, which will continue unaltered.

The council said: "We continue to require perished flowers on graves to be replaced or removed from the grave. Should perished flowers be left unattended on graves, the council will continue to remove the perished flowers, to help grave owners manage the grave."

One visitor to the cemetery had raised concerns about the rulings for all users in the new section. He called the initial proposals ‘discriminatory’ as other graves sites in the vicinity had ‘pots and ornaments’ placed on the sites.

He said: “There are many inconsistencies in the council’s approach and they are discriminating by treating people differently, they need to accommodate for the faiths according to beliefs not just expect everybody to follow their faith or belief.

“The people who are buried there did not choose the plot, the council did. We would much rather be placed in the old section.”

In response to this the council was keen to clarify that these ornaments and pots related to a section of the cemetery where cremated remains are buried.

The blocked paved graves with a small area in front of the headstone are for keepsakes and potted plants flowers. The council does not do any maintenance in this area and keeping the paved area clear of weeds is the responsibility of the grave owners themselves.

The new Muslim section of the cemetery includes a prayer facility, with Muslim funeral prayers themselves tending to last less than 20 minutes, and many people leaving the cemetery once prayers have concluded.