A new cemetery that locals raised major concerns about has finally been officially opened after years of work. 

The new Penn Road Cemetery in Hazlemere was officially opened earlier this week by Dev Dhillon, Chairman of Buckinghamshire Council, and Sarfaraz Khan Raja, the Chairman of Buckinghamshire Council's High Wycombe Town Committee.

The opening marks the final stage in a project that was started back in 2017 by Wycombe District Council and High Wycombe Town Committee amid fears the High Wycombe Cemetery would run out of space for burials within years.

A new cemetery has been in the pipeline for a long time as High Wycombe’s graveyard gets ever-closer to capacity – and a field off of Penn Road, which is in the AONB, was chosen by the then-Wycombe District Council.

After plans were given the green light in September 2019 - despite concerns from nearby residents who slammed it as a “vanity project” and raised fears that dozens of cars would use nearby residential road Queensway to park in for burials - work started.

The cemetery will be operated by Buckinghamshire Council as a combined cemetery provision alongside High Wycombe Cemetery in Hampden Road.

Mark Winn, the cabinet member for homelessness and regulatory services at Buckinghamshire Council, said: “I would like to thank High Wycombe Town Committee for the role they have played in bringing about this much needed community facility.

“The scope of the project was to create an attractive and appropriate cemetery that met a wide range of community needs.

"The tasteful design of both the building and landscaped gardens provide a tranquil and calm setting for people to say goodbye to their loved ones and to visit to be close to them.”

Hazlemere residents raised big concerns about the planned cemetery, with one slamming it as a "vanity project" and others raising concerns about traffic. 

Andrew Barrow said back in 2019: "It is clear that this proposal is an unwanted vanity project. The planning committee should reject the application and take steps to preserve this area for recreational purposes.”

And back in 2018, Hazlemere resident Keith Banner said: “The traffic is horrendous, queues stretch back for the best part of a mile. We try and avoid going out in rush hour because it is awful.

“The council has a problem with managing the traffic, because no one takes responsibility for it. It is always someone else’s problem.

“It is going to be gridlocked for most of the day by the time they have finished with the piecemeal developments.”