Another hurdle in a village’s long quest for extra burial ground has been cleared after planners approved a proposal to convert farmland into a cemetery.
Acle Parish Council had been trying to find land for a new graveyard for 25 years and with the existing cemetery approaching capacity, questions had been raised about where residents would be buried.
But Broadland District Council has given the thumbs up to convert half an acre of farmland northwest of the current cemetery, off Pyebush Lane, into a graveyard.
All that remains now is for the parish council to purchase the land.
A meeting of the parish council heard last month that the land's owner would move forward with the sale once he was less busy with the harvest.
The village's cemetery has been in use since the 1960s - but, with space for at most 10 or so more burials, will last for only another year and a half.
The time limit had compelled the parish council into not accepting requests from residents to reserve a burial space.
The parish council previously failed to get a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for land north of the cemetery, raising the question of where residents would be buried once the existing graveyard is full.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here