Projects

Cemetery Chapels

Background

The Town Council manages the administration and care of Selby Cemetery on Westfield Road, Selby, including burial of remains and ashes, memorial safety and grounds maintenance. At the entrance to the cemetery are two identical chapels originally built for the funeral service prior to the internment, one chapel was used for the Church of England and the other for Roman Catholic Church. At present the chapels are not used for funeral services, one is used for a store and the other for Grounds Maintenance tools and other miscellaneous items, and a small staff office. The buildings were built in the 19th century in the style of the Cemetery Lodge in a yellowish brick with stone details and ornamentation in the Gothic revival style. The buildings are in need of full repair and restoration, and re-purposing.

Proposals – the project

Selby Town Council has plans to refurbish / renovate the two cemetery chapels to:

  • Safeguard their structural integrity
  • Convert one into a high-quality space available for public hire / use (and provide a location for temporary storage of coffins / urns if they can’t be immediately interred)
  • Continue to use one as a workshop / messing / office facility for the grounds maintenance team.

There are no utilities in either chapel, other than electricity. Both chapels, if used as proposed, require accessible toilets, washroom facilities and heating, as well as renovation to the fabric of the buildings. We have had detailed plans drawn up by architects and aim to carry out the works in a sympathetic and environmentally way as much as possible.

Proposals – funding

It is expected that the renovations would cost approximately £700,000. Parish Councils can borrow for projects like this through the ‘public works loan’ scheme. If there is public support, the Council proposes to borrow up to £700,000 over a maximum of 30 years at a fixed rate, with an annual repayment of £48,000. To cover the cost, the Council would need to increase the precept paid by residents of the Parish as part of their Council Tax by the same amount. The increase on the current precept would be 7.6%.

A band D household in Selby Parish currently pays £128.95 per year in Parish Council precept, so this would rise to approximately £138.70 per year – an increase of about 19p per week.

All financial figures are based on data available at 9/10/2024 and may vary due to changes in interest rates and council tax base.

To progress with this project, we need evidence of residents’ support, therefore it is important that you complete the attached survey and return it before the deadline of 31st January 2025.

You can view the architects drawings below.

Please find the questionnaire below. The closing date is Friday 31 January 2025.

 

North & South Chapel plans 

 

Viewing: All Files

Show me documents by:

Miner’s Memorial 

The Town Council has had an original half Miner’s wheel refurbished and sited as a memorial to the Selby Coalfield at the Community Woodland in Bondgate. 

For generations to come the wheel will stand as a permanent memorial to those who worked in what was once the deepest and largest coalfield in Europe. The two memorial benches sited close by will provide a place for reflection and recollection of loved ones no longer with us.

An opening ceremony was held on Saturday 29 April 2023.

The Mining Memorial Volunteers have raised funds to have a Memorial Wall built to the rear of the wheel and an opening ceremony was held on Friday 4 September 2024. Members of the public will be able to purchase a brick on the wall to have their loved ones names “engraved” on. Details to follow.

 

This is a photo of the completed Mining Wheel which is a memorial to the community of Selby Mines. It is in the Bondgate Woodland and has two benches and an information board