A COUPLE planning to open a pet cemetery in Middlewich have been bombarded with calls of support from animal lovers across the county.

Susan and Terry Lea, of Crabmill Farm, Moston, have received a stream of enquiries from people interested in laying their pets to rest at the site off Booth Lane.

But the couple are very frustrated that there have been a number of setbacks in their application to Congleton Borough Council's planning department.

They were forced to withdraw their application in May because of problems with the proposed access to the site. Now, months after the application was first submitted, they are still experiencing difficulties.

Mrs Lea said: "We have people calling us all the time asking us when the pet cemetery will be open.

"The problem is we are waiting for the council to come back to us and they have been very slow about it. We need permission to knock down a hedge before we can go ahead and resubmit our application.

"I cannot put into words how frustrating it is having to wait. Hopefully we can sort it out soon."

Mrs Lea suggested that members of the public who would like to see a pet cemetery in Middlewich should write to Congleton borough and give their views.

"If people want to support us, perhaps they could write in to the council and encourage them to push it on a bit," she said.

Mike Jordan, of Congleton's planning department, said that it could be months before a decision is made. He said: "We have not received a resubmitted application yet. I know it's taking a bit of time because the applicants have been in discussions over the access to the cemetery."

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