Critics have been told to find a solution after calling for the closure of a town cemetery to be halted.
West Norfolk Council’s cabinet were due to make a decision on whether or not to shut the Gayton Road cemetery in Lynn.
It was proposed the site should cease accepting new burials from next April, with only 55 viable plots remaining.
Problems at the site have been caused by rising groundwater levels, with the high water table rendering more than half of its 5,400 plots “non-compliant” after changes to Environment Agency regulations.
The council’s environment and community panel voted against the cemetery’s closure earlier this year but did not offer any solutions to the problem.
It has left cabinet members seemingly frustrated at the lack of alternatives put forward.
Cllr Simon Ring, deputy leader, said at a cabinet meeting this week: “We are referring this back so the committee can consider what the alternative should be, rather than simply saying no.”
There are few options available to the borough council. An alternative site on land that was formerly allotments has also been declared unsuitable due to groundwater levels.
No other suitable site has been identified within the Lynn settlement boundary, but 44 other cemetery sites in the borough will be reassessed.
Of these, 19 are within two miles of the town and a further 25 are within three miles of Lynn.
It could take until 2029 before a new cemetery site is opened for new burials.
Other options include using Hunstanton cemetery, which could provide spaces for a further ten years.
However, people living in Lynn would likely consider this too far away for their loved ones to be buried in.
The environment and community panel will meet again next month, where the issue will be revisited.
