Work on a controversial new £2 million cemetery in Hazlemere is expected to finish before Christmas - but it won't be used until late next year at the earliest.

A new cemetery has been talked about for years as High Wycombe’s graveyard nears capacity – and a field off of Penn Road, which is in the AONB, was chosen by the then-Wycombe District Council.

After plans were given the green light in September last year - despite concerns from nearby residents who slammed it as a “vanity project” and raised fears that dozens of cars would use nearby residential road Queensway to park in for burials - work started.

The four-hectare field will also feature an administration building, maintenance storage area, car park, columbaria for ashes, reflective pools, a snowdrop garden and woodland walk.

With working apparently nearing completion, residents living nearby have been left wondering what happens next and when the cemetery will open.

A spokesman for Buckinghamshire Council told the Bucks Free Press work will hopefully finish before Christmas.

They added: "We are expecting the new cemetery to be handed over to the council before Christmas, subject to weather conditions and the contractor being able to complete the remaining soft landscaping works.

"The existing High Wycombe cemetery still has space for certain burial types and will continue to be used for some years to come.

"We anticipate we may start to use the new cemetery at Penn Road towards the latter half of 2021/22 as the landscaping and grass will need time to settle and establish first."