Lake View Bereavement Centre Opening – 10 September 2026
Cllr Anna Bailey’s Speech On The Opening of Lake View Bereavement Centre
Thank you all, so much, for joining us today.
This is a really proud and special moment for everyone that has been involved in bringing Lake View Bereavement Centre to life.
This site is unique. A former gravel quarry, then a much loved site of fun and activity as an outdoor centre – I’ve done my time floating around on various small inflatable crafts on and in the lake – and now a home for wildlife and a place of peace, tranquillity and support for the people of East Cambridgeshire.
Our ambition was to create something more than a crematorium. We wanted to create a place where families could take the time they need to say goodbye, where people could return to remember those they love, and where the beauty of nature could offer comfort during life’s most difficult moments.
The cycle of life is evident all around us – that feeling is deeply comforting. There is something special about being able to sit beside the lake, surrounded by trees, birds and wildlife, and simply have time to think. We hope that connection with nature will become part of the way people remember and celebrate the lives of those they have lost.
Thank you to all those that have helped to create this special place. We have hada fantastic experience with all our design, project management and build partners who have helped us to realise our vision. And this has been such a wonderful council wide effort – so many parts of the council have been involved.
Thank you to Alistair Merrick who supported the project in the very early days – he spent countless hours trudging about on the site in winter, overseeing dozens of site surveys and helping us to understand the unique nature of this site as a sanctuary for wildlife.
Thank you to all our Senior directors, especially Isabel who brought her very considerable experience to bear at the exact time we needed it and helped us to have the belief that this place will be a success.
Thank you to the planners, particularly Catherine, and to Amy, the ecologist, and to Dave in our Building Control team.
Thanks to Sally and all those involved in securing the finances – we have built this amazing place with no borrowing and no financial burden to the people of East Cambridgeshire.
Thank you to Lucy for her superb project management skills.
And to Spencer and his grounds staff.
To all the staff that joined the litter picks.
And thank you of course to all our partners – to Benchmark our architects for their amazing design, to our Project Managers, Luke and Matt at Bidwells, and to Scott and all at Kier for doing such a brilliant and exacting job in building this place.
Thanks to our small but amazing comms team, Annalise and Mel who have a special talent in saying things simply, clearly and beautifully.
And to Marta and the creative team – the logo and the truly lovely website were all designed in house by East Cambs staff. They really have done us proud.
And, of course, to Marisa and her new team who have come to run this special place for us. The buildings and the gardens are wonderful, but it will be the people who work here who will really make Lake View special. I know that Marisa and her team understand that, and I am enormously grateful to them for being part of the next chapter of this project and for hosting us here today.
Thank you to my fellow Councillors, past and present, for your support and belief in this project – Lake View is here because of you.
My final thank-you is a personal one, although sadly it is for someone that can’t be here with us today. From the very beginning Jo Brooks had the inspiration, the vision and the belief that this place could be something special. Thank you to Jo…who helped to make this place. We are delighted to have Jo’s Mum and husband here with us today.
This has been a remarkable project for East Cambridgeshire. I hope we can all look back at today as the start of something that will make a real and lasting difference to our community.
Lake View belongs to the people of East Cambridgeshire, and whether they are arranging a funeral, attending one of our bereavement cafés, walking through the memorial gardens or simply finding a moment of peace beside the lake, we hope this will become a valued community asset for generations to come.
