The Jewish Joint Burial Society, providing funeral services to 37 Reform, Masorti, Liberal and independent synagogues, has started building the prayer house at the Woodland cemetery, Cheshunt, the first Jewish woodland cemetery in Europe.
Being constructed from natural materials to complement the environment, the prayer house will accommodate up to 200 mourners and has been sited to minimise the effect on the surrounding woodland. It should be completed by next spring. JJBS is also starting its own undertaking service to enhance the provision for its members, particularly those to the east of London. New JJBS chair David Leibling said the projects "will raise the service we give in caring for our members to a new level".