Planning Committee approves use of Whiston Woods for cemetery expansion
St Helens Borough Council Planning Committee (4 November) has granted planning permission to Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council for the expansion of Knowsley cemetery utilising Whiston Woods, a site that sits on the border of Rainhill and Whiston.
Article date: 7 November 2025
The expansion to the site will see the provision of 5,447 cemetery plots and will be carried out over a phased programme of delivery, extending over an estimated 100-year period. Phase 1, providing around 1,313 burial plots and 998 cremation plots, would meet demand for approximately 30 years. Two further phases would be brought forward beyond 30 years and 55 years respectively, subject to burial/cremation trends.
Under Phase 1 (up to ~2055), the area will remain open to the public and works will see a network of surfaced pedestrian paths, self-binding gravel routes, bark chip trails, and a composite timber boardwalk, integrated with existing informal paths. The majority of existing woodland will be retained and enhanced by new tree planting, wildflower meadow areas, and the creation of wetland habitats.
The planning application has been granted with Section 106 obligations, a legal agreement between the St Helens Borough Council and applicant, which will mitigate the loss of open spaces arising from the later phases of the development. These have been calculated as £315,530.16 for Phase 2 and £166,879.80 for Phase 3, triggered on the commencement of each respective phase. The legal agreement also includes contributions to monitor the new habitat created on site to deliver biodiversity net gain from the development.
Extensive consultation has been carried out with relevant statutory agencies including St Helens Council's Highways Service, the Environment Agency and United Utilities, with no objections raised by those organisations. A significant number of public objections were received, however, as well as an objection from Rainhill Parish Council.
Councillor Richard McCauley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration at St Helens Borough Council, said:
"As a Planning Committee, we carefully considered the benefits of this scheme, the concerns raised in representations received, and the effect on Green Belt land.
"The importance to families and residents to have access to a final resting place within or near to the place they call home cannot be underestimated and it has been suitably demonstrated by the applicant that Whiston Woods is the only suitable and available site to accommodate the required cemetery extension.
"The approved plans, and associated Section 106 obligation placed on Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council, will protect the woodland character of the site while delivering a cemetery capacity in a sustainable location that will serve generations of residents across both boroughs."