A NEW £200,000 cemetery is being built in Dudley to tackle the shortage of burial space in the borough.

Dudley Council has earmarked a section of land in Clee Road, opposite the existing Dudley cemetery.

It comes as the current cemetery has just 12 months of burial space left.

The new site will have enough burial space to last approximately 20 years and will include fencing, gates, pathways and parking bays.

It will also be able to cater for all religious needs.

Councillor Hilary Bills, cabinet member for environment and culture, said: “We are spending up to £200,000 extending the amount of burial space we have in Dudley, to resolve the well publicised shortage we have.

“The new facility will be able to cater for specific religious needs which is something that is very important to us with the rich diversity we have in the borough.”

Work on the new facility is expected to start later this year and will be open by the end of the year.

The scheme was approved at the council's cabinet meeting last night (Thursday).