A Travellers' encampment with 35 caravans could be set up on part of a cemetery.

Rochford District Council is to consider proposals for the Thornton Meadows Wildflower Cemetery in Canewdon Road, Ashingdon.

Owner Sandra Harper, of nearby Glazebook Farm, wants to convert part of the cemetery into a travellers' site.

Mrs Harper's plans come after the district council refused proposals for a four-bedroom house on the site.

The latest plans include a caravan for a manager, who could then supervise the day-to-day running of the travellers' camp as well as the cemetery.

The cemetery opened ten months ago and has spaces for 19,000 graves but an initial application to build a permanent house for a manager was turned down on October 20 last year.

Terry Cutmore, Tory councillor for Ashingdon and Canewdon, said: "This application does not appear to meet our policies."

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