Their proposal - which is to go before the borough council - comes after members held an emergency meeting to discuss the issue.

Vale Royal Borough councillors recently decided that villagers who want to be buried in Helsby could face being forced to buy a £1,000 plot in Frodsham instead.

Borough planning officials threw out a parish council bid to convert allotments in the village back to cemetery ground use.

Parish councillors were dealt the blow after submitting the application, which they had hoped would reclaim some temporary allotment space, with St Paul's Churchyard full and the village cemetery close to capacity.

The land was bought from public money more than 100 years ago to secure long-term burial needs of the village, but local members now fear the decision leaves Helsby without adequate provision.

The parish would need to spend about £100,000 to obtain an alternative burial or allotment site, which, it is feared, would place a heavy additional rate burden on about 2,000 households.

The justification for the decision was that the borough plan cannot be changed.

A borough council spokesman said: "The proposal would result in the loss of part of Old Chester Road allotments with no adequate replacement of these allotments being provided nearby.

"It would be contrary to policy within the adopted Vale Royal local plan first review.

"There are no material circumstances, including the need for burial plots in the locality, that would override the development plan policy."

But now parish councillors have come up with the alternative proposal, which would hinge on talks with landowners to see if any sites are available in the area at a 'sensible price'.

Clr Frank Thomas said: "We have decided not to appeal against the decision, but we have decided to put in a new planning application instead.

"It is a question of whether land is available at a sensible price."

jbrakell@guardiangrp.co.uk