WORK to exhume a Bournemouth graveyard has the green light to go ahead.

Chester Pearce Funeral Service has been granted planning permission to retain a hoarding around the disused cemetery of the former Pokesdown and Boscombe United Reformed Church in Southbourne Road, Pokesdown, for 12 weeks while the remains of as many as 120 people are dug up.

The firm's managing director Stephen Nimmo has previously told the Echo about plans to study the remains and any artifacts buried with them in a bid to piece together the history of the site and the area, before they are all reinterred at Kinson Cemetery. There are no official records of who is buried there.

In a report, council planning officer Ruth Povey said retention of the hoarding was "reluctantly accepted". "The screening of the site whilst bodies are exhumed is accepted, however, the retention of the hoarding beyond the work to move human remains is not deemed justified," she said.

"It is understood that the work to remove bodies takes around a fortnight and is planned to be carried immanently, therefore it is considered a three month period to retain the hoarding would be more than generous."

Chester Pearce is also required to refurbish six headstones, and any others which may be found during the dig, and restore them to the site afterwards.

The firm bid to extend the timeframe for this restoration from the original 14 days required by the council, and this has also been granted.

The new time limit is six months after the exhumation.

In a report, planning officer Katherine Ashley said: "It is a fact that after the ground is dug and refilled the level will naturally subside as loosened soil settles into place.

"It is noted that natural sinkage can relate to various factors including depth of digging, location on site, weather conditions, groundwater levels and soil type.

"Due to the weight of the gravestones the ground needs to be relatively well consolidated to provide as much stability as possible so that the gravestones when laid down do not sink into the ground."

Mr Nimmo, a forensic anthropologist, said the study of the remains would be carried out "in the most respectful way possible" and information gathered would be made publicly available.

Developer Jaydem Homes won the original planning consent for the exhumation and is expected to seek to build on the site.