MORE burials are to be carried out in an existing cemetery in Redditch, extending provision in the town by ten years.
Councillors at Tuesday’s meeting of Redditch Borough Council’s Executive Committee resolved to repurpose an open part of the Abbey Cemetery, next to Redditch Crematorium, as new burial space.
The council will now also explore new options for longer-term burial provision in the borough after councillors had cancelled a previous plan for a new cemetery on Ipsley Church Lane.
Back in October 2021, the plans were previously approved by Redditch Borough councillors.
The proposal was lodged in response to a national shortage of burial sites. However, a campaign was sparked to stop the plans for Ipsley Meadow with more than 800 public objections.
Some residents feared it would be a loss to the Ipsley community as the land was used for recreational purposes, while others were concerned about the impact on wildlife.
When the Redditch Labour group took control of the council last May, it pledged to stop the proposal and confirmed the plans had been withdrawn in September.
Redditch Borough Council’s Portfolio holder for environmental services, Coun Sharon Harvey, said: “We promised to make a fresh new plan for future burial provision in Redditch and we are delivering on that promise.
“It’s a very emotive question and, while we all agree on the need to create new provision, we must find an answer that our communities are able to support.
“In making this choice we must also acknowledge the seriousness and sensitivity of the issue.
“There will be families who, over the years, have used some of that open space at the Abbey Cemetery to scatter loved ones’ ashes, and to anyone who feels they will be directly affected by this change, I want to say this: ‘please come and talk to us’.
“We want to work with you to ensure your needs are met, including considering new memorial features to honour those loved ones.”
Committee members also agreed to commission a review of the potential for a site off Battens Drive, north of Morrisons, to be used for burial provision in the long term and to recommend to the full council the issue of new burial provision be incorporated into Redditch’s next Local Plan.
Redditch Borough Council leader, Coun Joe Baker, added: “Many people in Redditch opposed the previous administration’s proposals to build on Ipsley Meadow.
“We have listened and put a stop to that, and other options for the longer term will now be properly considered.”
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