A PLANNING application for a green burial ground in Haslemere has been withdrawn.

The owner of the land at the top of Bunch Lane, Robert Macqueen, told The Herald this week that there "was no point in continuing with the application until a risk assessment survey requested by the Environment Agency had been carried out".

He said it followed incorrect information, provided by the agency, which had now discovered that their original maps of the site were wrong.

"I had a letter from the Environmental Agency saying that part of the land could be unsuitable because it was too close to an abstraction site," said Mr Macqueen who is considering re-submitting the application at a later date.

Mr Macqueen, who now has to ascertain any potential pollution on the site, said he could no longer use the four acres he had made available for the burial ground which would be likely to be reduced to one acre.

He added that he may have to consider limiting the number of burials that could take place.

Mr Macqueen, from Sturt Road, a landscape gardener with an interest in the environment, had submitted the application for a change of use for the present agricultural land to a burial site.

On the site, approached by a quarter-of-a-mile stone track, trees would replace headstones, only wooden grave markers be permitted, and coffins would have to be made from cardboard, wicker, or bona fide sustainably sourced timber.

Mr Macqueen now has up to a year to re-submit an amended application to Waverley Borough Council.