A NEW graveyard could be built because a parish council has become frustrated with how the cemetery it shares with a neighbour is run.

Romanby Parish Council is running out of patience with Northallerton Town Council over the running of Northallerton cemetery.

The two parishes share the cemetery, running it via the joint burial committee.

But at a recent meeting, Romanby councillors claimed their Northallerton counterparts believed they had more power.

Romanby councillors added that Northallerton Town Council was not sticking to decisions previously agreed by the two sides.

A rift was created when the joint committee decided to demolish the cemetery lodge and sell the land to developers.

It was the idea of Coun John Prest, Mayor of Northallerton and chairman of the burial committee. The board agreed it was the most viable option for the dilapidated building, which was draining the board's limited funds.

But a public outcry followed and Northallerton abandoned the idea, despite Romanby still wanting to go ahead.

Coun Paul Law, from Romanby, said Northallerton rejected the proposal "without Romanby's consent" and he was dismayed at the lack of progress the committee was making.

He said: "We looked at all the options and we deliberated on how we should go forward. That proposal is still on the table and to go through it again is mismanagement.

"I don't see any point in going through it all again unless we have new options.

"I'm really annoyed with the JBC at this time. In two years we spent £165,000 on the lodge and that is an incredible figure."

Coun Bob Beaver then asked whether Romanby should have its own cemetery: "Perhaps something Northallerton is lacking is one of those environmentally friendly burial grounds.

"There could be a place for that in Romanby. People are wanting environmentally sound burials. Would that not be something we could look at?"

But Coun John Smith said the council would have to find the money up front and hope that the cemetery would be used and the money recouped. He added that there were only 32 burials last year.

The council agreed to voice their concern in a letter to Northallerton Town Council and await its response.