ALLOTMENT holders in Upton have been told they will have to vacate their plots in two years time as the land is needed for extra burial space.

Upton Town Council has written to the nine tenants at the cemetery allotments informing them of the situation. Allotment holders at The Graftons are not affected by the move, and the council has already started looking for land to provide replacement plots for those who are.

The decision to re-allocate the allotments for burial ground was taken by the council’s open spaces committee.

Town clerk Andrea Oliver said: “Ultimately there is going to be a need for more burial space and that is why we have had to give the allotment holders two years’ notice to vacate their plots.

“We are looking for alternative sites but it is difficult, as most of the land here that is above the flood level is already built upon.

“There has not been any adverse reaction to the decision. Some are disappointed but they understand, and they know that we are trying to find alternate sites for them.”

There is a small waiting list for allotments in Upton, and Mrs Oliver said that if a bigger site could be found, the council would hope to provide more plots.

She also said that the extra space from the allotments would provide burial space for quite a few years.

“It is difficult to predict accurately after that, but you would think that eventually, at some point in the future there will be a need for more burial space again,” she added.