Controversial proposals to build a new cemetery in Mid Sussex could be scrapped following a rethink by councillors.

Burgess Hill Town Council wants to set up a site on 4.8 acres of land at Green Crescent, off Jane Murray Way.

But negotiations between Mid Sussex District Council and site owners Sunley Developments have hit delays and time is starting to run out.

The district council had hoped to buy the land from Sunley and then sell it on to the town council to use as a cemetery but negotiations have not been successful.

The district council says it will continue to try and get an agreement but has asked the town council to consider other options instead.

Four other sites owned by the district in the Burgess Hill area are being investigated to see if they would be suitable instead.

The district council believes the most suitable alternative scheme involves land off Nightingale Lane which has not been considered before.

The site has a Roman road crossing it so the council will have to speak to the county council's archaeologist to get permission.

Further tests on drainage, planning and parking issues will also have to be carried out.

A district council leisure services spokesman said : "We are pressing Sunley strongly to hand the land over to the council and we have not altogether discounted the possibility of its use as a burial ground.

"However, in view of the urgency of the situation, we now feel obliged to look again at other land in our ownership in order to try to progress matters."

Other sites being looked at again include Eastlands Farm, which has already been discounted by Burgess Hill Town Council as unsuitable because it is in a remote location and difficult to get to.

A further site east of London Road was discounted because of the high cost of gaining access but is now being reconsidered along with a location south of Wingletye Road.

Burgess Hill churchyards have little room left and the town council has been searching for another suitable site for years.

It believes the new cemetery could serve the town's needs for more than 100 years.

Residents opposed to the proposals for Jane Murray Way have welcomed the delay.

Irene Matthews, of Junction Road, who contacted the town council several times to protest at the plans, said: "It was always in the wrong place.

"They were planning to use open land between Burgess Hill and Hurstpierpoint but this was supposed to stay untouched so we could keep our separate identities.

A district council leisure committee will discuss the problems at its next meeting on September 20.