Cemetery is hit by delay

The opening of Kidderminster's new multi-million pound cemetery could be delayed by months because of a spending freeze, a leading councillor has warned.

Plans for the scheme are going ahead despite a cash crisis caused by a freeze on £9 million of Wyre Forest Council funds invested in troubled Icelandic banks.

But council leader John Campion said it was now "unlikely" that the first burials would take place until the end of next summer or even until the Autumn of next year.

Spending is having to be spread over a longer period while Wye Forest district council tries to recoup the cash.

Council chiefs say a new civic cemetery is needed because the old one in Park Street is running out of space and set to reach capacity in 2009. They have now agreed to create a new cemetery on a 26-acre site off the Stourport Road.

It will cost between £2.3 million and £5 million dependent upon whether a crematorium is eventually included in the plans.

Council leaders say it will save mourners the cost and trouble of lengthy journeys to Stourbridge, Worcester and Redditch for cremations. But because of cutbacks work is not expected to be completed as quickly as planned. Engineering works are now expected to begin next month with planting and the creation of access roads probably scheduled to be carried out early next year.

The hold-ups mean that the cemetery will not be ready for opening until the end of next summer or even until the Autumn.

Councillor Campion said: "We still have aspirations for the cemetery but there has been a change in the death rate and demand for burial space has reduced. The council is in partnership with a national cemetery and crematorium operator and it was hoped the cemetery could be open early next year. Now it seems likely that the first burials will not take place until later next year."