Time running out to expand local cemetery

WITH space rapidly running out at Woodlands Cemetery, the council is looking at options to extend the current site.

A new report has reiterated how little room is left, with suggestions that the remaining plots will last, at most, for another few years.

This would leave North Solihull without a local burial ground, forcing residents to use Widney Manor or facilities in other authorities - where they are likely to be charged more.

In an attempt to avoid this, the council has been looking at areas of land it could acquire in order to press ahead with an expansion.

Discussions have been going on behind the scenes and officers have advised that they want to bring a report, setting out the various options, "as soon as possible".

Work will also need to take place to replace Woodlands' ageing cremator - which is now almost 20-years-old and handles hundreds of cremations each years.

The bereavement services strategy said: "Woodlands Cemetery currently has approximately four-five years maximum capacity, and again this is only possible by utilising pathways and any spare land."

Expanding the boundaries of the current site - which is situated between Chelmsley Wood and Coleshill - would require planning permission.

Checks would also need to be carried out to make sure the land met the requirements laid out by the Environment Agency.

The strategy, approved earlier this week, sets out plans for meeting future demand.

Estimates suggest that Solihull's population will rise by more than 10,000 over the course of the next 10 years and that the number of funeral services will increase accordingly.