Environment Agency asks for more information before backing church graveyard extension

The Parochial Church Council to St Mary's Church, Sherrifhales, has applied to Shropshire Council for permission to use a piece of agricultural land to the north of the church as a burial site.

The Environment Agency (EA) has responded as one of the statutory consultees and says it wants the church to assess the water table underneath the land to ensure there can be no potential pollution.

It said: "We do not disagree with the assessment as presented but note that this is based on desk-study information only.

"We have concerns in regard to the possible depth to water table underneath this site, due to the proximity of the site to the watercourse to the west and the low-lying surface topography of the proposed extension area meaning that conceptually the groundwater table may be shallow in proximity to the watercourse.

"The depth to water table is key to determining whether the site is suitable for a graveyard extension."

In its letter to Shropshire Council the EA says that it is required to ensure the site does not potentially pollute the water table.

It states: "Burials into groundwater can cause pollution to the water environment. As a minimum the base of each grave will need to be at least one metre above the highest annual groundwater level."

It adds: "They may wish to assess this through a series of trial pits or a borehole to understand how the water levels vary across different times of the year."

The EA also asks that potential risks to private water supplies are assessed.

It said: "The applicant should also contact the private abstraction officer at the local authority (Shropshire Council) to determine if there are any private water supplies within 250m of the site.

"This will inform whether there would be further local risks to private drinking water supply abstractions from this proposed cemetery extension."

A decision on the plan will be taken at a later date.