Natural burial site is planned for Perton woodland
Acres of woodland in South Staffordshire are to be transformed into a natural burial ground, under new plans unveiled to meet demand for plots.
Around 8.6-acres of land in Perton will become burial space if the proposals are approved by South Staffordshire District Council.
Unlike traditional cemeteries, natural burial grounds have no individual gravestones or stone memorials. Instead small plaques are hung from trees and posts to act as the only outward sign of burials there.
The application has been submitted by the trustees of the Lord Wrottesley Voluntary Settlement and the site at Corser's Rough will be managed by the Natural Burial Company.
The application states: "The proposal for a new natural burial ground has a negligible effect on the natural environment and what effect there is, is a positive one.
"Unlike a traditional cemetery, there is virtually no impact on the land – no formal footpaths or access drives, no imposing entrance gates, no individual gravestones or stone memorials.
"The only record of the burials will be bat and bird boxes and discreet postcard sized plaques on simple timber posts.
"Increasing numbers of people are seeking a less traditional, more secular funeral, in terms of service and final resting place."
Andrew Russell-Wilks, spokesman for the agent, added: "There would be no more than 104 burials per year, that's about two per week."
Graves will not be visibly marked but records will be kept by placing a GPS transponder in each one.
The project would create one full time and one part-time job. The land was formerly a temporary Second World War military base.
It comes after a 30,000-plot cemetery on green belt land in Essington was given the go-ahead.
The scheme was approved last month as preparations get under way for the creation of a new cemetery in Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley, to further meet demand. There are around 240 natural burial grounds across the UK. The first one opened in Carlisle in 1993.
