A mausoleum will not be built in Lichfield after a planning application was rejected.

An agricultural storage building at Springhill Farm off Lichfield Road had been earmarked to be transformed into the facility, which would have been used alongside the soon to be built Springhill Cemetery.

Developers said the site would have featured a crypt area and around 500 burial vaults.

“Over recent years families have been using community mausoleums to create lasting memorials for loved ones,” a planning statement said. “Mausoleums are essentially above-ground burial vaults, which date back to the 4th century BC.

“Increasingly communities are requesting a greater choice in how loved ones are buried and remembered. As such, a mausoleum is a logical addition to the approved cemetery.”

However, planners have refused to allow the change of use to go ahead, describing it as an “inappropriate development in the Green Belt”.

Full details of the plan and the decision notice can be found on Lichfield District Council’s planning website.

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