Norton Canes cemetery extension will provide 500 extra graves

Families in Cannock currently have to travel to Rugeley’s Stile Cop Cemetery to bury their loved ones due to a lack of plots in the Cannock area.

But Cannock Chase Council has now given the green light for a 500-grave extension to St James’ churchyard, which will provide burial space for several decades to come.

The approval comes just over a year after the planning committee granted permission for a new crematorium in Cannock.

The authority is also keen to open a new cemetery in the town, working with the cremation firm to create the facilities side-by-side after buying land near Five Ways Island and Heath Hayes.

A report to Wednesday’s meeting said: “The Cannock Chase Local Plan and its evidence base set out the need for a cemetery in the district based on population statistics and existing cemetery capacity.

“An existing application has already been granted planning permission for an alternative cemetery site within Norton Canes Parish to address these concerns and meet needs in the south of the district, although it is noted that a small extension to the existing parish cemetery may be implemented quicker and be better suited to the needs of the parish residents if the site is considered suitable.”

The site is currently an arable farm field next to the existing cemetery, the report added, and measures 0.45 hectares (1.1 acres). The cemetery extension will provide 500 graves for burial over the next 70 years.

The application was submitted on behalf of Norton Canes Parish Council.

Speaking after the meeting Councillor John Preece, district ward member and chairman of Norton Canes Parish Council, said: “At the moment there is only a handful of plots left in a small corner.

“We asked for comments and the parish council did a survey asking people what they wanted. One of the important issues that came about was wanting a graveyard.

“People want to be buried with their loved ones and within the sound of the church bells.”