A NEW cemetery could be created and a park saved from closure thanks to money from the borough council.

Three projects are set to benefit from nearly £190,000 worth of cash from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s Local Infrastructure Fund.

The council has earmarked £50,000 towards the cost of the new cemetery, at land west of St Leonard’s churchyard, in Reading Road.

Sherfield-on-Loddon Parish Council bought the land needed for the project and planning permission was approved in 2007.

A report to the borough council’s Cabinet member for strategy, Councillor Ranil Jayawardena, said the project would be of “general benefit to all residents in the local area” and around 500 plots would be created to meet the current level of requirement for 50 years.

Ecchinswell Village Hall is also set to receive up to £27,400 to upgrade and refurbish equipment in a play park in the centre of the village.

The report says that if the work is not undertaken, the park may be forced to close within the next 12 months. Stratfield Saye Parish Council is set to receive £2,261 towards the cost of a replacement boiler for the village hall.

Cllr Jayawardena has approved funding for the projects under delegated powers.

In the council report, he said: “The decision proposes to allocate almost £190,000 to communities that have had housing growth in the recent past.

“With improvements to the playing field in Ecchinswell, the village hall boiler replacement in Stratfield Saye and the creation of a new cemetery in Sherfield-on-Loddon, this decision will improve the quality of life for people in our borough.

“It is right that infrastructure improvements are made across our part of north Hampshire. LIF is delivering the long-lasting improvements that residents want to see. This investment is only possible because we have a strong economy and a long-term plan for our council’s finances.”