Plans for a new cemetery on Canvey were today given a last-minute reprieve after a survey showed the land might not be waterlogged after all.
For weeks the future of the burial ground off Northwick Road has hung in the balance after it was revealed Environment Agency experts feared the ground could become waterlogged at certain times of the year.
If the site had been waterlogged the council would not have been able to bury people on the land as the bodies would not have decomposed properly leading to the water becoming contaminated.
However, a recent survey of the ground carried out by Castle Point Council has shown the land might not be waterlogged which would mean work on the cemetery could soon get under way.
A spokeswoman for the council said: "There was an investigation of the land earmarked for the cemetery on Canvey and the Environment Agency has confirmed that the land is not waterlogged.
"We are now waiting for the Environment Agency to send us written confirmation of this and once we have that confirmation we will be able to progress further."
Published Thursday August 15, 2002
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