Natural burial ground plan gets green light

Additional trees will be planted to create a new woodland along with wildflower meadows

A natural burial ground is to be created after planners gave it the green light.

The scheme at Burtenshaw Farm, near Barcombe, East Sussex, was put forward to rewild the site and stop using the land for livestock, for environmental reasons, a committee heard.

Objections included loss of agricultural land, disturbance from burials and an increase in traffic.

On Wednesday, Lewes District Council's planning committee allowed the scheme but limited burials to no more than 100 a year.

The limit is broadly in line with the one or two burials a week the owners of the farm in Spithurst Road said they were seeking.

Under the plans, about 2.7 hectares of grazing land would be used as the natural burial ground - a site council planning officers have said would take at least 60 years to fill.

In a natural burial, the body is buried in a biodegradable wicker or cardboard casket, with a memorial tree planted at the grave.

Planning officers said the land was not considered to have high agricultural value because its thick clay base made it unsuitable for arable crops.

Additional trees will also be planted to create a new woodland and some of the land will be turned into wildflower meadows.

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