Members to Gather in Protest Over Proposed Burial Site in Catherine-de-Barnes
The English Defence League has proposed a rally in Solihull to voice their objections over plans for a Muslim cemetery in a village near the area.
Members of the group intend to congregate in the town centre on Saturday, April 18 in protest to the proposed burial plots in nearby Catherine-de-Barnes.
Proposals for the burial ground were submitted to the Solihull Council for a third time, following two refusals of the plans last year.
Cemetery Development Services Ltd, the agent representing the applicant, has challenged the refusal, which was made on environmental grounds as the development would ‘blight Green Belt land’, and insisted that a need exists for a Muslim burial site to tackle a shortage of plots in the area.
The initial application sought planning permission for 7,000 plots, which was reduce to 4,000 in the next application.
The most recent proposal requests permission to build a cemetery with 3,333 plots as well as storage, toilet facilities and a garden.
The EDL, which announced the demonstration on Facebook, said: “The Solihull Division alongside the United Midlands will be holding a local demonstration in Solihull town centre on Saturday the 18th April 2015.
“The reason for this local demonstration is because of the third proposed Muslim burial plot in Catherine-de-Barnes.
“We have chosen to do the demonstration in Solihull town centre as Catherine-de-Barnes comes under the Solihull borough and we feel we will have more of an impact in the town centre than turning up in a small area a few miles down the road.”
