Cemetery bid for Essington given the go-ahead

Members of South Staffordshire Council's regulatory committee have granted permission for the cemetery to be built at Bursnips Road in Essington in a bid to meet demand for burial space.

Committee chairman Brian Cox said: "This site is needed in the area for local residents and will allow for at least 50 burials a year."

Essington villager Paul Boot withdrew an initial application to transform his field into burial space amid objections by parish councillors but he resubmitted the plans with more detailed proposals in June.

The development to transform about 30 acres of green belt land will be created in two phases, one field at a time, and the second may not begin for another 10 years.

It will be landscaped for both conventional lawn cemetery and woodland and natural burial which will allow for the preservation of wildlife and planting of trees.

Worried

Councillors agreed that about 1,000 plots in the proposed Essington graveyard must be set aside for Essington residents at a reduced price.

South Staffordshire Councillor Kathleen Perry said that while she was in favour of the plans, she was worried about flooding.

She said: "In light of the torrential weather we have experienced, I worry about the water cascading onto the site. I wouldn't like to see any disturbance to it in the future."

But Councillor Cox said the issue had been flagged up by the Environment Agency which was happy with the current drainage plan and for the application to be approved.

The scheme has been approved as preparations get under way for the creation of a new cemetery in Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley.