The billionaire brothers who built their fortune in Bury have revealed plans for their massive 84-acre cemetery.
Mohsin and Zuber Issa have submitted a planning application to Hyndburn Council for '35,000 burial plots’ in the area.
The Issa Memorial Garden (Muslim Cemetery & Pavilion) will be located off Blackburn Road, near West End Business Park.
READ MORE : The billionaire brothers who built an empire from a Bury petrol station and bought ASDA for £6.8bn
The pair who built their fortune from a petrol station in Bury are hoping to build a cemetery that will serve the Muslim community in the North West for 50 to 100 years.
The proposal states that the site will span 84 acres – equivalent to 40 football pitches -and would come with 663 parking spaces.
The site will be overlooking Blackburn Road, which is the main route connecting Blackburn and neighbouring town Oswaldtwistle.
Last week their campaign hit a snag when more than 2,800 people signed a petition objecting to the proposals and Hyndburn Council requested more information on the development.
A statement by the Issa Foundation regarding the site reads: “The need for Muslim burial plots within the North West of England has become critical, a situation made worse by Covid 19.
“The proposal is a matter of public interest for the Muslim community and is of strategic importance for the North West area.”
The Issa brothers, from Blackburn, began their business empire back in 2001, when they bought a garage in Brandleshome Road in Bury.
The garage still stands there today.
Some 20 years on, the pair are worth more than £3bn, after making a record-breaking £6.8bn deal at the end of last year when they purchased Asda from US shopping giant Walmart.
Earlier this year the brothers secured more than 70 Leon restaurants across the UK and Europe.
