The burial board administering a dilapidated north Manchester cemetery is looking to a land deal to fund repairs and future upkeep.
Visitors to Crumpsall cemetery - which contains the grave of Marks & Spencer founder Michael Marks -- have complained about paths and stones overrun by nettles.
Lila Levy from Prestwich said she struggled to access her grandparents' plots. "It's in a terrible state, all overgrown and a lot of graves were in a bad state of repair."
Now burial board co-chair Howard Gordon reports the signing of a contract with development consultants, who will apply for planning permission to build residential properties on spare land. The land, with sufficient space for 40 houses, cannot be used for burials because of its slope.
Mr Gordon said it could be worth "anything between £50,000 and hundreds of thousands. We are only going to get a proportion, shared with the development company."
Repairs to the cemetery's prayer hall and entrance will cost £30,000 and annual gardening fees are £2,000.
Brian White of the Rainsough Charitable Trust said a community appeal would also be launched.
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