No decision on Edgware Jewish cemetery appeal (From Times Series)

No decision on Edgware Jewish cemetery appeal

7:10am Tuesday 20th October 2009 in

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A SYNAGOGUE group, which last week had its application thrown out to extend a Jewish cemetery in Edgware, says it has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision.

The Trustees of Belsize Square Synagogue face running out of burial plots at the Edgwarebury Lane site within three years.

Four groups share the site, but only two of these, the Belsize Square Synagogue and Liberal Judaism, face a serious problem in terms of burial space.

However, Keith Conway, a spokesman for the synagogue, said it was not possible to share the empty space remaining, because of religious differences between the liberal and Orthodox communities.

He said: “We're taking advice at the moment, but haven't made any decision yet.

“The ramifications of the decision for two of the communities is there will not be any space to bury people at Edgwarebury or in the borough of Barnet.

“A lot of the councillors were suggesting we should be sharing the existing spaces, but that's not possible as we're not Orthodox Jews.”

He added the cemetery is used by Liberal Jewish communities from across London, which is why they had filled their allocation faster than the other groups.

Environmental groups argued the expansion into the fields, which are designated as Green Belt land, should not be allowed as it would affect local wildlife and ruin the landscape.

Mr Conway said the group had not ruled out launching an appeal to the planning inspector, but it may also submit an application to extend the cemetery into one of the two fields.