PLANS have been submitted to extend a natural burial ground in Temple Balsall into the green belt.
An application handed to the council’s planning department by djogs Landscape Architecture and Ecology Services is seeking to change the use of green belt agricultural land off Temple Lane next to the burial ground site.
It would would allow an extension of around a hectare to the Temple Fields Cemetery.
Natural burials, otherwise known as green burials or eco burials, see bodies placed in biodegradable caskets, shrouds or urns which are better for the environment, according to planning documents.
Planners say the cemetery would not be restricted to any particular or specific religious denomination and it will be privately owned and run.
Up to 25 burials a year are permitted at the existing privately owned facility and it is intended to keep activity at this level should the extension to the cemetery be approved.
In line with the ethos of natural burials, planning documents state traditional headstones would not be placed at the site.
There would be an option to mark individual graves with small plaques and “the planting of locally native trees.”
The planning statement said: “The additional capacity provided by this change of use will be incorporated into the existing management plan, allowing the spread of burials over a larger area and extend the operating life of the site.
“There is no requirement for any buildings, other structures or land forming within the application site.”
