Council urged to scrap burial site plans

Tory MP Wendy Morton has urged council bosses to scrap plans submitted by the site in Rushall, which wants to take in more than 500 burials a year.

The former limestone mining site in Winterley Lane is currently allowed to host 50 burials a year, and residents have complained that the extra capacity could lead to roads in the area becoming gridlocked with traffic.

Aldridge-Brownhills MP Ms Morton has written to the Conservative run authority urging bosses to throw out the plans.

She said: “Walsall Council originally consented to a Natural Burial Ground at Winterley Lane in Rushall, where there would be 50 burials per year, given the limited access to the site and recognising the concerns of local residents.

“Within the space of only a few weeks there is now a proposed variation to the planning consent to allow 576 burials a year, representing a 1,100 per cent increase. This also means an increase in traffic movement at a site that has limited access.

“This variation is completely unacceptable. It is not a well-meaning proposition. It is a commercial venture seeking to usurp the planning system.

“I am extremely concerned about this proposal. I have written to Walsall Council to express my concerns about this completely unnecessary planning variation that will have a detrimental impact on local residents living within the vicinity of this site."

Under the plans, up to two burials will take place a day, between the hours of 10am and 3pm, with 90 a minute interval between services.

The scheme was initially approved in November last year. A petition against it gained more than 600 signatures, but it was still given the green light by councillors.