Council adopts new policy as space runs out at cemetery

SOLIHULL Council is to stop residents from reserving grave plots at Woodlands Cemetery, amid concerns that the site will soon be full.
Previously the local authority has allowed families to purchase plots for future use or to ensure that loved ones are interred close to one another.
But late last year, councillors agreed to put a stop to the practice to extend the use of the site, which is a stone's throw from Chelmsley Wood.
Under the current system, it had been suggested that the 340 remaining plots would be sufficient to meet the needs of the local area for around another 18 months.
By ending the option to reserve a plot, the council expects that use will be extended for maybe five more months.
A spokesman said: "Although people would not be able to reserve plots together at Woodlands they would be able to do so within Solihull borough at Widney Manor Cemetery [in Bentley Heath].
"Alternatively people wishing to be buried together may chose to use the same plot which can be dug to double or triple depth."
Work is currently underway to secure land for an extension at Woodlands in order to provide a longer-term solution. The council has said that doing nothing would leave the local authority without a burial site in the north of the borough.