A FIELD site earmarked for tree planting has been dropped from a list of possible council cemetery sites.

The land near the junction of Carr Hall Road and Park Avenue in Barrowford was included in a list of five places suitable for a new graveyard by Pendle Council.

The June meeting of the borough's policy and resources committee heard there was a need for an extra cemetery space following the February decision not to demolish the listed Nelson Cemetery Lodge to create additional burial plots.

A list for five possible sites in the Nelson area was put forward.

They were: the cemetery allotments, Nelson; land at Marsden Park Golf course; land off Halifax Road, Nelson (a former garden centre); land off Carr Hall Road and Park Avenue, Barrowford; and land off Halifax Road and Edge End Avenue Nelson.

Now following further site surveys and opposition from the council's Labour group the Carr Hall Road in Barrowford land has been dropped from the list and an earlier plan to plant it with trees reinstated.

The decision has been welcomed by the council's Labour Group Leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal and Barrowford and Pendleside ward Conservative Cllr Carlo Lionti.

Philip Mousdale Pendle Council’s corporate director said: “From investigation it was clear that ground conditions meant it would not be suitable for use as a cemetery and we will be going ahead with the original idea to plant trees on it.”

Cllr Iqbal said "When the cemeteries issue came up at the committee meeting in June it looked as though a decision on new sites was going to be delayed indefinitely.

"I succeeded in getting a time limit on the process.

"The Carr Hall Road site had already been designated for tree planting by Pendle's climate emergency working group.

"Labour members in Barrowford were concerned that this would not now take place and alerted residents to the problem.

"Pressure from them has led to a quick removal of the site from the cemetery list, and there's every possibility now that the tree planting can go ahead in the next planting season.

"This site was never going to be suitable for a cemetery as it's often waterlogged.

“Pendle is aiming to plant some 3,000 trees a year as part of the Lancashire Woodland Connect scheme.”

Cllr Lionti said: "I think this is the right decision.

"I would have thought that residents would prefer this field as trees rather than a cemetery.

"It will be good for the environment."