THE deputy leader of the borough’s Labour group has called on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to implement a bus service if it goes ahead with plans to build a new cemetery in North Waltham.

In a motion at the latest full council meeting, Councillor Paul Harvey, Labour ward member for Norden, called on the Cabinet to promise that a reliable and regular bus service would be in place before the site is open.

Cllr Harvey told the meeting: “North Waltham is isolated, and it is remote from those who will use it and visit it, and it raises a number of questions and issues that have not yet been addressed.

“We are talking about mainly, but not exclusively, elderly residents visiting loved ones and their graves, and the ability to easily access the cemetery is essential.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that accessibility to the site is a problem.

“We are pushing for the council’s support to accept the principle that a bus route is an absolute prerequisite for this site to proceed, and any site to proceed, and we would like to see a planning condition attached to any planning application that goes forward for the cemetery site.”

Cllr Hayley Eachus, Cabinet member for community and the environment, reaffirmed her previous position that all transport options would be looked at.

She said: “It would be absurd to limit our possible sites to those within an existing bus service. If the new cemetery is in North Waltham, it may very well be that a regular bus service goes out that way in any event.

“A new hospital between Basingstoke and Winchester is a real possibility and that will require a bus service along the route.

“I am always open to all transport suggestions and I am happy to keep all options on the table but I cannot agree that a bus service is a prerequisite to any selection process.”

The motion regarding a firm commitment to a bus service was lost after 29 Conservative councillors voted against the proposals.

Twenty six councillors, including Labour, Liberal Democrat and one UKIP councillor, voted in favour of the motion. UKIP councillor Stephen West and Independent member Onnalee Cubitt abstained from the vote.