THE expansion of a city cemetery could be allowed to go ahead despite a mystery over how many plots are expected to be built.

Worcester City Council’s planning committee meets in the Guildhall today (September 29) to make a decision on a plan to extend Worcester Muslim Cemetery in John Comyn Drive but with little information on what the size of the expansion could be.

A decision was supposed to have been made in 2020 but was pushed back to allow for discussions over its size.

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Designs first put forward in 2019 showed that the cemetery would eventually expand by 785 plots, but it has still not been confirmed whether the huge work is still going ahead.

The plan was redrawn last year to move proposed burial plots away from areas at a higher risk of flooding and while the drawings show where the cemetery would expand, there are no details on how many new plots would be built.

Former mayor and city and county councillor Allah Ditta, who is the applicant, said he had “stayed away” from discussions between the council over the size of the cemetery and was “unsure” about exactly how far it would be expanded.

Planning reports admit the extension has “decreased” but do not say by how many new plots would be built.

Worcester City Council did not respond to a request to clarify how much the cemetery would expand.

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The planning report said the extension would be used by members of existing families in the cemetery with others told to use Astwood Cemetery.

Around 12 funerals are expected to take place every year with between 50 and 100 people attending.

A 26-space car park would also be built, for which highways officers at Worcestershire County Council said Cllr Ditta had not provided “firm evidence of … frequency of burials and associated parking demand.”

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The Environment Agency had asked the council to reconsider the location of the new car park and whether it was “appropriate” to build it in an area that is likely to flood.

The land is part of the city’s green belt but planning officers have said exceptions can be made for cemeteries as the proposed extension “preserved the openness” of the space.