MEMBERS of a charity who hope to create a Muslim burial ground near Callington say they will try their utmost to see the project realised.

A planning application for the almost 9000-plot cemetery on agricultural land at Maders was withdrawn last month.

Gardens of Mercy spokesperson Dr Salim Mahadik said that the application in its current form “was possibly creating avoidable misapprehensions and clearly needed to be rewritten.”

Concerns from local residents over the scheme have focused on a feared increase in traffic along narrow, unlit lanes, and the potential contamination of groundwater supplies from natural burials.

The planning application has drawn almost 350 comments on Cornwall Council’s planning portal, with objectors and supporters equally represented in the views posted.

Following the submission of the application, a group of residents commissioned EJFP Town Planners to put in a representation on their behalf to the local authority.

Part of the letter to Cornwall Council reads: “This site is on a west-facing slope below Kit Hill, and suffers from a higher-than-average rainfall. Three properties on the edge of Maders have wells within 250m of the site and one has the well as the only water source for drinking water.

“A little to the south of South Hill Road, there is a sizeable market garden. Bearing in mind the huge number of graves planned, the sloping terrain and the high rainfall, there would seem to be a great likelihood of contamination.”

Dr Mahadik said: “Our future plans are currently being discussed. Essentially, our desire is to try our utmost to achieve Gardens of Mercy's only objective, which is to provide for Muslims living in Devon and Cornwall, a burial space that meets the requirements of their faith, without having to transport their deceased far away from where they live.”