GRAVES which have been in a churchyard for 150 years will be exhumed to make way for a new church hall.
Part of the graveyard at St John's Church in Redhill will be dug up for the new building, which the church insists will provide vital extra space for a number of activities.
The hall, to be built north of the church building, was granted planning permission by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council last week.
The new building will house the church's Sunday school, currently based at St John's Primary School and the vicarage, both on the other side of Pendleton Road.
The council received numerous letters both for and against the plan.
Speaking at the planning committee meeting, opponent Cliff Russell, of Kings Avenue, said: "You are talking about disturbing graves, exhuming bodies, relocating bodies, chopping down protected trees [including a Scots pine] and all the considerations of green belt and listed buildings.
"And the rationale for all this is that a small number of children have to cross the road on a Sunday.
"If you accept this proposal at face value, it is gratuitous, it is unnecessary and it is disproportionate to solve what is a minor inconvenience for children."
In other submissions to the council, residents branded the graves plan "disgraceful" and "a gross abuse of responsibility".
Others also objected on the grounds of traffic congestion and harm to the St John's conservation area.
In his presentation to the committee Hamish Watson, planning agent for the church, said: "The matter of graves in the area of the hall is a delicate one and, whilst it is not a planning issue, it is a matter which the church wishes to confirm will be taken with the utmost care, sensitivity and respect."
In a report to the committee, planning officer Andrew Benson stated: "As the soil is acidic sandstone; it is possible that there will be very few remains.
"Any remains would either be re-interred within the churchyard or within a local authority cemetery."
He added that headstones would be moved to the perimeter of the graveyard.
Among the graves in the affected area are those of William Aldridge, who died at the age of one in 1887. Others date from the 1860s to the 1920s.
Supporting the plan, councillor John Stephenson said: "I think it is more important to cater to the needs of the living rather than the graves – they can be easily moved."
