New cemetery in £14m boost

A new civic cemetery, extra car parking spaces and more toilets are planned as part of a £14million package proposed by Wyre Forest District Council.

Structural experts are to check a proposed site of more than 20 acres on the outskirts of Kidderminster which could be used for a cemetery.

It is part of plans for the district approved by the council's cabinet last night.

The cemetery is expected to cater for burials for the next 75 to 80 years to replace one in Park Street which is due to close in the next few years.

Officials hope landscaping work to create rose gardens, possible wooded areas, parking, roads and pathways can begin in time for plants to mature by the time the Park Street cemetery shuts in 2009.

A sum of £300,000 has been earmarked for the project in the council's proposed budget which members are expected to approve on Wednesday.

The cabinet last night also agreed to provide extra car park spaces in Kidderminster, Bewdley and Stourport from a £100,000 cash pot set aside by council chiefs.

Plans are also in hand to introduce free short-stay car parking on Comberton Place car park as soon as practically possible and at Vale Road and the Horsefair car parks when they become chargeable. The £14 million package also includes £200,000 to be spent on providing new toilets in New Road, Kidderminster.

Cleaner streets are also being promised, with £35,000 to be earmarked for cleansing operations.

And an extra £50,000 is being earmarked after people complained that during hot weather, rubbish in wheelie bins became smelly and maggot-ridden.

Councillors have decided money should be set aside to help improve cleanliness but members said there were no plans to make the fortnightly rubbish collection service more frequent.

By Sue Smith