CIVIC chiefs are set to approve a taxpayer-funded plan to ease the area’s “body crisis”.

Fareham Borough Council is set to approve plans to extend Holly Hill Cemetery in Sarisbury, creating space for 377 new burial plots and 240 cremated remains at a total cost of £300,000.

It comes after residents became concerned that the current cemetery offering at Holly Hill, which currently serves more than 40 per cent of the borough’s total population including Locks Heath, Swanwick, Park Gate, and Whiteley, was falling short of demand.

Consequently, councillors had a rethink to extend the cemetery on to land to the southwest of the current one, which is located on Barnes Lane.

Fareham council leader Sean Woodward, said: “Forty per cent of the borough lives in the western wards so it’s important that loved ones are buried reasonably close to where they live.

“We need to ensure adequate provision of burial plots in the Western Wards while balancing environmental needs.

“We know exactly how many burials are made each year so we should have space for another 30 years."

The plans will be determined next Wednesday