This town edge site location changes throughout its length, with burial areas closest to the town needing to respond to the manicured gardens of the suburban properties and those those further away responding to the more agrarian setting. 
We developed a landscape plan with Mae which drew on the grain, texture and scale of the rural landscape establishing a landscape carpet of hedges, copses and enclosures.
Incorporating a modern non denominational chapel the cemetery combines a number of burial plots designed as a series of external rooms to service the modern day community.
The site’s open aspect affords panoramic views over the Bedfordshire countryside, but also leaves it susceptible to exposure from wind. The blocks of planting therefore act as a device to ameliorate the severity of the winds while framing outward vistas and views.
It is located in area of heavy clay soils with drainage being a major issue for both the digging and management of graves.
Plant selection is determined by the need to reflect the nature of the local landscape and a desire to explore the spiritual relevance and symbolism of landscape elements, tall trees such as poplar introducing a vertical emphasis giving a cathedral like quality to the burial areas.
Equally important to the design of the graves and the chapel however, is the parkland in which they sit. The cemetery has been deliberately designed to encourage public use, with park and woodland at its core.
