Pendeen Community Cemetery Project

Pendeen Village is an isolated rural community in far West Cornwall around 7 miles from Land's End. The sense of belonging, and connection, to this wild unspoilt land, and to each other is incredibly strong here. This connection to ancestors and to the land is perhaps made stronger by the fact that this was historically a proud Cornish mining community. In the not-too distant past it has suffered a number of mining tragedies, and finally the loss of the mines themselves in the 1980's.

There is a huge intergenerational community spirit that exists, and residents support one another on many levels - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and even financially when they can (and have done so for decades, not just during the recent Covid crisis). The existing graveyard in Pendeen village (which served not only the village but also several other outlying hamlets) is now completely full.

Currently there are no burial places for those wishing to be laid to rest in their community, close to many generations of their family and friends. Neither the church nor the local authority will take on any extra provision.

The Covid pandemic exacerbated the anxiety of this situation, particularly amongst the elderly residents. Many residents are fearful that their loved ones will have to be buried some distance away - in cemeteries that are difficult to reach from our isolated village, and that are not close to previous generations of their family that lie buried here in Pendeen.

The aim of the project is to establish a community-run cemetery, open to all (or no) faiths, beliefs, and lifestyles without discrimination. We believe this to be the first venture of its kind in the UK. All necessary local authority planning permissions have been obtained, along with the required Environmental Agency stipulations, and South West Water agreements. All that remains to be done is the groundworks, and construction elements that will turn what is essentially just a field at the moment, into a fully operational, accessible, functioning community cemetery The purchase of this system is part of a grant funded application process and therefore procurement will be subject to grant approval of the project. We will assess tenders received on a Most Economically Advantageous Tender.