Scots eyeing green Powys burials

The Humphreys say they plan to be buried at the farm

Council chiefs in Scotland may model a new multi-million-pound cemetery on a mid Wales hay meadow transformed into a "green" burial site.

Two Inverclyde Council members made a fact-finding visit to meet the owners of Green Lane Burial Field in Powys.

Following the visit, Inverclyde said it was considering the "opportunities the Green Lane model offers".

Bodies are buried in shrouds or wooden or cardboard coffins, and bulbs or live flowers mark graves, not headstones.

We were impressed at what we saw at Green Lane and the visit certainly sparked our imagination Inverclyde Council

The meadow near Newtown was opened for burials two years ago.

Owners Ifor and Eira Humphreys have since had 16 funerals, while 59 people, aged between 19 and 93, have made advance bookings.

Green Lane was mid Wales' first private "green" site designed for those seeking alternative funerals.

Inverclyde Council's ground services manager Willie Wilson and councillor George White visited the burial ground in November.

Green burials cost from £350 at the farm near Newtown

A spokesman for the Greenock-based authority said: "They were looking at greener and environmentally-friendly alternatives to [traditional] burial and cremation.

"We were impressed at what we saw at Green Lane and the visit certainly sparked our imagination.

"We are about to enter the fifth phase of a multi-million-pound burial grounds development and we are considering the opportunities that the green lane model offers."

Mr and Mrs Humphreys have run their Upper Bryntalch Farm in the village of Abermule for more than 20 years, but decided to open the field for burials to bring in extra income - as well as offering a green option for funerals.

There are three green burial sites in Wales run by local authorities - two at St Asaph and one in Cardiff.

The first private site in south Wales opened in the grounds of Usk Castle in Monmouthshire last year.