£3m Walsall cemetery plan is refused after protests

Campaigners have been fighting against the cemetery, earmarked for land in Aldridge Road, and collected more than 1,000 names in a petition against it. Hundreds also flocked to a public meeting at the end of January.

Planners at Walsall Council have now refused the Aldridge Road Burial Park scheme under delegated powers.

Aamer Waheed, boss of Springhill Cemetery Group, who is also behind Walsall Burial Park, in Burntwood, had submitted the application.

It followed a rise in the number of private cemeteries across the country due to increasing pressure on burial space.

Councillors in the St Matthew's ward and campaigners living in nearby streets including Mellish Road today welcomed the news the plans have been refused.

Councillor Imran Azam said: "The council's decision in refusing this application is based on robust technical grounds and we feel confident in defending it even if the applicant decides to appeal against it."

But Suky Samra, who helped organise the petition against the private burial ground as part of campaign group Residents Against Cemetery, said people were "not jumping up and down" yet, amid fears there may be a follow up application or an appeal.

Planning chiefs at Walsall Council turned down the application due to the risk it would pose to the groundwater level at the site, which has flooded in the past. They said the application had also not properly assessed the presence of grey crested newts, bats and protected species all believed to be present.

Applicant Mr Waheed today said he was not sure what was going to happen next.

"The planning department said it needs more information about things such as the water table, which is fair enough," he said.

He said he would like to have a future meeting with residents before making any decisions.

Had the plans been approved, more than 8,000 burial plots would have been created on the 4.3 hectare site. It would also have included a reception building, a 64-space car park and a new access road. Seven jobs would have been created, along with new work for other funeral-related businesses in the borough such as stonemasons and florists.

Meanwhile, the final stage of work to create a new cemetery boasting 8,000 plots in Great Wyrley was starting today.

Construction teams have moved onto the site off Strawberry Lane.