A LOCAL history society has said that it is appalled by plans to demolish a 150-year-old cemetery building and sell the land to developers.

Northallerton and District Local History Society has offered to take over The Lodge in Northallerton Cemetery, which is home to cemetery caretaker Andrew Sangster and his family.

The building, which dates from 1856, is becoming dangerous and needs an investment of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

John Prest, Northallerton mayor and chairman of the joint burial committee for Romanby and Northallerton, proposed demolishing it and selling the land to developers to build eight houses or a dozen flats.

But the history society criticised the idea in a letter written to the committee by its chairman, Lou Dale.

He said: "We are appalled at the affront this proposal represents to the dead and bereaved in that you should even consider the development of a consecrated site for commercial purposes."

He pointed out that similar-aged buildings in South Parade have been preserved with the help of grants.

And he suggested the society could run the building as a museum but this required support in the form of a grant, which could take time to organise.

Mr Dale reprimanded the committee for miscalculating the need for burial space: it took land off allotment holders to provide extra burial plots, but people are not buying them.

Coun Prest said: "We have really just about reached the end of the road and we have got to think of ways to secure the future of the committee."

Committee member Paul Law said the other options were to find the money to make the building safe or raise the burial committee's precept by 80 per cent.

He said: "That's simply too much to ask from the people of Romanby and Northallerton. It's good that the society are concerned about it, but the thing is in a few years The Lodge will fall down.

"The Lodge is in a terrible state of repair. It is taking thousands and thousands to maintain. It is taking all the money we have and needing more and more."

Coun Law said the committee had a duty to provide Mr Sangster with a decent home, a sentiment echoed by Coun Prest.

Mr Sangster declined to comment to The Northern Echo.