ELEVEN hectares of agricultural land and water meadows in Weymouth could be used to provide a new cemetery, allotments and conservation areas.

Members of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s management committee approved proposals to retain and develop Tumbledown Farm in the Radipole conservation area.

Coun Roger Allen told fellow committee members: “We’re running out of cemetery spaces and have got between five and 10 years worth of spaces left available.”

Coun Allen said that with the other needs the borough had for allotments and conservation areas, using the land would allow the council to ‘tick so many boxes'.

He added: “We’re looking at a piece of land that can’t really be developed and has low commercial value but as a community base has huge value.”

Coun Peter Chapman echoed Coun Allen’s view, describing the area as having ‘not a huge commercial value but an immense community value'.

Coun Brendan Webster said the proposed change of use for the area would ‘encourage the proliferation of wildlife'.

An officer’s report on the proposals for Tumbledown Farm said the area was owned by the council and was until 2009 leased out for agricultural and equine use.

The report said that because of the farm’s placement within Radipole proposed changes would only be permitted where they ‘preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the conservation area'.

The report added that the farm has the potential to be developed into a ‘multi element facility'.

This could include a site for the spreading of cremated human remains and the creation of a ‘newly planted woodland extension’ where trees could be purchased by family and friends of the bereaved who wish to ‘contribute to an environmental project’ providing timber for woodchip fuel and construction purposes.

The report continued: “The ethos will be based around capturing carbon to offset the cremation emissions and to give back to the earth in an ecologically sound way.”

The area could also include a pet cemetery and the creation of allotments or a community food project.

The report said this would aim to encourage ‘healthy activity and exercise, food miles reduction and the production of local food by organisations such as schools and community groups'.

Other proposals include extending the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) lease to include a water meadow and Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) areas.

Part of the plan would involve relocating the RSPB’s operational base to the farm area, including shared facilities for welfare, storage, parking and workshops.

The report also said an alternative option for the site would be to sell it for around £150,000.