EXPERTS are to be brought in to find a new burial ground for Abergele.
But it looks increasingly likely that any new site will be some distance from the town centre with Llanfair Talhaiarn a possibility.
Town councillors are becoming increasingly frustrated at the delay in resolving the problem which has been going on for a decade.
With space running out at the Llanfair Road cemetery Cllr Delyth MacRae, the town’s Mayor, declared: “This had gone on far too long.”
She told a meeting of the town council: “Space is at a premium at the cemetery and there will soon be none available. We will continue to push for this to be sorted.
Numerous sites have been put forward by Conwy County Council but they have been ruled out mainly because of the fear of flooding and the the cost of carrying out the work.
Now hydrological consultants are to brought in to help in the search for a suitable site.
Cllr Richard Waters, chairman of the Abergele Joint Burial Committee said: “I would hope that by the spring we may be in a position to move forward. Although there will hopefully be enough space at the cemetery for the near-future, this matter really needs to be resolved as soon as possible.
“It is starting to look like we may have to go further away from the town centre than we would have liked but it is getting to the stage where we just need to move on.”
As well as Llanfair Talhaiarn an area close to Penrefail Crossroads off Llanfair Road is also being looked at.
At the town council meeting, members were told that Lyn Davies, Street Scene manager on Conwy County Council, would be liasing with Local Development Plan officer Stan Yates to see what spaces for burial land may become available in the area under the LDP.
The need for new burial space in Abergele has been heightened by the number of vacant grave plots at St Michael’s Church, Abergele, also being very limited.
Rev Shirley Griffiths, vicar of Abergele, said: “As things stand, we can accommodate new burials for four years. But if the other cemetery becomes full, then we can only manage for two years as the number of grave requests could double.”