PLANS to construct a new cemetery in an area of land in Penallt will not be going ahead. An unregistered borehole was discovered within 125 metres of the site, located to the east of Penygarn Road and north of the main road into the village. Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) was advised by Natural Resource Wales that no land can be used for burials within a 250-metre radius of a bore hole. According to National Resource Wales guidelines, only half of the site can be developed as a burial ground. Speaking at a cabinet meeting last Wednesday (2nd July) Councillor Giles Howard said: "Clearly the risk to go forward with building this cemetery is too great. "Obviously the shortage of a burial site is a big issue. Council leader Peter Fox said: "It's extremely challenging to find a suitable site for burial and I'm really disappointed there's an unregistered borehole. "It's a disappointing position we find ourselves in." Councillor for Penallt, Debby Blakebrough, spoke to the Beacon about the discovery of the borehole. She said: "It just goes to show that meetings like community consultations are very important. "If local people hadn't come and shared their knowledge then we wouldn't have known about the bore holes."