A PUBLIC exhibition will be held next week after plans were submitted for a new cemetery.

As previously reported by The Gazette, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Cabinet pressed ahead with controversial plans for a new cemetery in North Waltham, last October.

The borough council has been looking for a new site because the cemetery in Worting Road, Basingstoke, is expected to reach its capacity in 2020.

The local authority agreed to purchase the land at North Waltham in September 2012.

The project has now moved a step closer after outline plans for the new cemetery, in Stockbridge Road, were submitted by the borough council on May 20.

According to the application, the Worting Road cemetery had 432 grave spaces remaining in August 2014, and data collected by the borough council between 2008 and 2014 showed that 77 new burial spaces were allocated for full burial each year.

The local authority expects the cemetery to reach capacity during 2020 based on current burial rates.

The borough council has proposed 30 new car parking spaces at the new cemetery, traditional burial sites, space for infant and multi-faith burials, garden areas for reflection, a cemetery depot with a temporary office and toilets and a chapel building which is expected to be built between five and 10 years after the site has opened.

When considering the North Waltham site last September, members of the community, environment and partnerships committee raised concerns that the site is too far from Basingstoke and that it is hard to reach by public transport.

To deal with this problem, the borough council said in the application that it will pay £15,000 a year for a public transport initiative to transport people to the site.

A public exhibition will be held at the Rathbone Pavilion, in Church Road, North Waltham, between 5pm and 8pm next Wednesday.

Cabinet member for regulatory services and the environment, Councillor Hayley Eachus, said: “Feedback from people using the Worting Road cemetery is that the service provided is very well-respected.

“As the Cabinet member responsible, I want this vital community service to be able to continue, especially as this means there is public accountability for the way the service is managed in the future.

“This location seems the best option for the future, so submitting this planning application is an opportunity to test whether this is a good site for the new cemetery.”

A decision on the plans is expected to be made by August 11.

If planning permission is granted, the council would need to purchase the land from a local landowner. The creation of the first phase of the cemetery would be completed during 2018/19.