REGENERATION boss Maureen Bateson has admitted Blackburn with Darwen council will not know how many bodies will need to be dug up and reburied for a new £4 million highway until excavations start.
She was tackled on the number of exhumations expected for the Freckleton Street link road to Wainwright Bridge at a Council Forum meeting by borough LibDem leader David Foster.
MORE TOP STORIES:
The exchange followed a study by Oxford Archaeology North revealing many more people are buried in the former St Peter’s Church graveyard in Blackburn than previously thought.
It puts the number at between 2,000 and 5,000, although the highest estimate is 7,600. The council previously said it expects to exhume and rebury around 200 bodies.
Coun Foster asked Coun Bateson: “What is the latest estimate of the number of bodies that will need to be reburied to make way for the ring road extension and what are the financial implications?”
She replied: “We think it is a few hundred at most. We won’t actually know until we start excavating.
“Much of the road actually goes through the church not the graveyard. There are a lot of different estimates.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel