BISHOP’S Waltham Parish Council has come in for criticism over its handling of work at a cemetery.

West Hoe Cemetery lies between Bishop’s Waltham and Swanmore, and councillors from both parishes sit on the cemetery management committee.

An application is to be submitted for improvement works to the site just off Hoe Road.

At a public meeting last Tuesday, Dorothy Quiney, a resident and the former parish chair, slammed proposed changes to the site.

“The way this site is laid out lacks sensitivity: the manure heap; the access road; the large storage shed with a toilet in it. I’m surprised that you have not even looked at this and the effect it will have on the people who live in this village and have relatives in this cemetery.

“Would you really like to sit the other side of a fence from a manure heap if you were bereaved?” she said.

She said the council ought to “go back to the drawing board” and accused councillors of not viewing the planning application or consulting with the burial ground committee.

The parish council did not respond, except to say that Mrs Quiney’s concerns had been noted.