Plans to create a 31-acre Muslim cemetery on land surrounding the conservation village of Carmunnock have been met with local opposition.

Villagers have launched a campaign to stop green belt land around the area being used for the new cemetery.


Glasgow Central Mosque insists the new site would be kept as a green area with just one or two funerals a week.


A public meeting, set up by Carmunnock Community Council, which is against the plan, will take place on Wednesday.


The proposals are currently being considered by Glasgow City Council.


Leaders at Glasgow's Central Mosque want to create the new graveyard because the current cemetery at Cathcart is nearly full.


Site debate


But opponents of the cemetery said the use of green belt land would effectively bring an end to Carmunnock's status as a village.


They believe there are alternative sites available for the project, including within Carmunnock Cemetery itself.


In a statement, Carmunnock Community Council said they respected and supported the Muslim Community's search for cemetery space but asked
that the same regard be given to the green belt land and their status as a
village.


They insisted that the campaign against the cemetery was about preserving the green belt around the village and had no other agenda.


A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council acknowledged that the local authority had recently received the planning application and that a decision would be made at some point in the future.


She added that locals would be invited to lodge any objections to the cemetery as part of the normal planning process.


Representatives from Glasgow City Council, the developers Jamiat Ittihad-ul-Muslimin, and also from the Muslim community have been invited to the meeting at Castlemilk Hall at 1930 BST.

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