I note from a a number of email enquiries that there has been some controversy of late locally; a plan has existed for some time now to construct a new cemetery at Springhill on the Walsall (Lichfield) Road, between Shire Oak and Muckley Corner. The site of the burial ground is at the former Springhill Farm, to the East of the A461, just south of the M6 Toll. Part of this development involves constructing an island on the A461 Walsall Road.
The location of Springhill Cemetery and traffic island highlighted in red, plotted on Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 scale mapping. Click for a larger version.
The plan for the cemetery has been rattling around for nearly a decade, and has been approved for some time, after an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate; indeed, construction is now underway. I’m aware that there’s been a lot of local conflict over this, and a good deal of misinformation abounding. The fact is, the scheme has been approved, and is being built.
A planning history of the site can be browsed here, on Lichfield District Council’s website.
The cemetery is being constructed by Springhill Business Services of Birmingham, who are also constructing the new cemetery in Chasetown, as well as others across the country. It’s interesting that with municipal facilities rapidly filling, and councils unable to invest in as much capacity as is needed, private burial grounds such as Springhill are a growth industry across the UK.
Rumours that this project, or the one in Burntwood are for muslims only, are incorrect. These facilities will be open to all. An application to extend the site to include a crematoria was declined. There will be areas for multiple faiths in both cemeteries.
The new traffic island on the A461 Walsall Road will be about halfway between Whittaker and Pouk Lanes, around the crest of Springhill. Construction of this will start soon and take approximately 8 months. Again, this has caused some controversy.
The actual island to be built on the A461 from planning documents lodged with Lichfield District Council. Click for a larger version.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with it. There’s currently a huge amount of farmland for sale around Stonnall, and the dispersal of the Springhill group of farms laid the area open to intensive development. In the absence of agricultural use, I’d rather have relative green uses of land – like cemeteries – than houses or creeping industrialisation, which I think we would all agree are always better on brownfield sites. As to a new traffic island on the A461, it will get built. This may be inconvenient for a while, but alternate routes exist, and anything that calms the traffic over Springhill can’t be a bad thing in my view.
When the new island was added at the bottom of Barracks Lane on the A5 a few years ago, I expected it to be a disaster, but in use, it actually works very well. I’ve no reason to expect this to be any different.
Sprinhill Farm has lain fallow for some years now, like a lot of farmland in the wider Stonnall area. Imagery from Bing! maps. Click for a larger version.
I present this information to help readers find out what’s going on. I have no intention of debating the application or it’s merits, which have been rehashed over and over again elsewhere. This post is for information purposes only. Anything commented here that is abusive or defamatory will be removed, and comments closed.