Work to start on £1.7m cemetery

Green burials in wicker coffins will be offered at the new cemetery

Work will start this year on a new £1.7m cemetery in Torfaen, to replace an existing burial site which is expected to be full within three years.

The new cemetery at Hollybush Heights, Cwmbran, is due to open in 2010/11 after plans were passed this week.

The cemetery includes woodland and meadow areas which can be used for leisure activities.

The site will also cater for "green burials", where biodegradable coffins are used without headstones.

Councillor John Cunningham, executive member for operational services, said: "We are confident that we will create a very peaceful, unique site and we are pleased with the way local residents have helped shape the plans."

Some residents had objected to the location of the cemetery and the proposed route of the access road.

The access road will now be built across council-owned land east of Hollybush View rather than through a housing estate at Cefn Milwr.

The new cemetery, which is expected to have a 50-year burial capacity, will be called Llwyncelyn - Welsh for Hollybush - after the council held a competition.

Shortage of burial plots is a problem for many areas across the UK.

Monmouthshire council closed its cemetery in Monmouth to new burials earlier this year when it ran out of room, blaming a change in environmental regulations.