Knowsley Council has completed the purchase of Whiston Woods from Forestry England as part of its plans to extend local cemetery provision, ensuring there is capacity for the next generation of local people wishing to be buried in a Knowsley Cemetery.
The site will now form part of Knowsley’s green space offer to residents, serving both Knowsley and St Helens communities and will be managed and maintained by Knowsley Council moving forward.
The purchase follows consideration of the plans at two Planning Committees. The first planning application was considered by St Helens Council’s Planning Committee on 4 November 2025 relating to the change of use for the site to deliver the cemetery over a phased programme of delivery. The second planning application was considered by Knowsley Council’s Planning Committee on 11 December 2025 relating to vehicle access to the site.
Both Planning Committees approved the planning applications, enabling Knowsley Council to proceed with the purchase of the land.
The site consists of 20.14 hectares and approximately 4.4 hectares (i.e. less than a quarter), will be used to extend the current Knowsley Cemetery offer.
The remainder of the Whiston Woods site will be kept for use as community woodland, with 92% of the woodland retained.
As well as investing in cemetery provision for local residents, the council will be investing in extensive improvements to the existing network of pathways and bridleways as well as creating improved entrances and boundaries, seating areas, and enhanced habitats. It is anticipated that works will begin later this year to deliver these improvements. Over the summer, site surveys and ground testing will take place, which may involve machinery at the site, but the cemetery development is only expected to commence later in the year.
The whole site will remain freely accessible to the public.
The current Fox’s Bank Cemetery (next to Whiston Woods) is nearing full capacity and as a result, additional land is required to provide enough future burial spaces to allow local residents to be able to lay their loved ones to rest in the coming years.
It is anticipated that the Cemetery extension will include a mix of traditional burial plots and the scattering of cremated remains. The proposals do not include a crematorium. It is hoped that this will create capacity for approximately 100 years with 10,000 burial spaces available, along with access improvements and parking facilities.
The council also plans to work with local residents, visitors to the site and Knowsley Cemetery users to achieve Green Flag status for the site and put in place management arrangements to achieve other designations, such Local Wildlife Site status.