Walsall Burial Park to change name because it's not Walsall

Walsall Burial Park opened in November 2013 but since then people have contacted the owners to say they do not like the name as the site does not actually sit in Walsall.

Instead it lies in Burntwood.

Bosses at private firm Springhill Cemetery asked for suggestions on social media and the name Chase & District Memorial Park was chosen.

The signs at the site will change in the next few weeks.

General manager Kamran Saleem said today: "We kept getting messages from people and comments.

"People were asking why it was called Walsall Burial Park. From our point of view the site's name is irrelevant but it has been a touchy subject for a lot of people.

"We put it out to public vote and asked them what they wanted it to be called. We have been staggered by the response. We had about 300 people voting.

"The name has officially changed but we need to change the signs and the website. We've changed it on all the paperwork."

Mr Saleem said Burntwood Burial Park was another name option but people preferred it to be called Chase & District Memorial Park.

Thousands of plots were purchased months in advance before the £1.4 million burial park opened over a year ago. It was created in response to growing pressure for burial sites across the region.

The site off the A5195 serves Walsall, Cannock and Lichfield.

The eight-acre site includes more than 1,000 plots for cremated remains and around 5,000 burial plots. It had been in planning since 2010 and has a shelf life of 20 years.

It also includes child and baby burial plots.

Mr Saleem added: "In that area it falls on the Walsall and Staffordshire border, but people didn't want the site to be named after Walsall as it isn't in Walsall."

So far, 267 plots at the cemetery are either filled or have been booked in advance.

Springhill is also opening a second cemetery in nearby Lichfield. Work is ongoing at the site off Walsall Road.

Plans were recently submitted for a new cemetery on the border between Norton Canes and Heath Hayes, offering thousands of burials each year.

The facility will be able to offer up to 5,000 burials annually. Bosses behind the scheme say if it is approved the cemetery will be in use for around 50 years and they say it is needed due to high demand.

Neither Cannock Cemetery in Pye Green Road in Cannock or Wolseley Road Cemetery in Rugeley accept new burials anymore.