THE infamous Throckmorton burial site could be restored to its former glory if a few final alterations are given the all-clear.

Planning applications have been put in to Worcestershire County Council to restore the land to way it was before the foot-and-mouth crisis.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking permission to give the burial cells a slightly domed appearance, restore the area to its former ecological value using a mix of grass and wildflower, and build a lagoon.

The plans have been well received by locals who see this as the end of a two-year ordeal.

"I think Defra is doing the right thing by making the site more nature-friendly and I hope the finished product is as good as it sounds," said county councillor Liz Tucker, who lives in the hamlet.

The 20-hectare site at Throckmorton airfield was the scene of uproar two years ago when some 133,000 animals were buried there during the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Residents in the hamlet were concerned at the time that there would be potential health risks as a result of the burials, including pollution of water supplies by seepage from carcasses, and possible diseases being carried by plagues of flies.

Defra has always denied this, however, and an independent report by health experts Det Norske Veritas played down any risks.

The Government department, which has already announced that it will never bury any more animals at the site, wants to install a new leachate collection system to replace the present one.

Worcestershire County Council is to make its decision on the latest proposals by Defra this Tuesday, July 15.

Older cattle meat proposal

MEAT from older cattle could soon be sold in Worcester supermarkets again.

Under a ban introduced during the "mad cow" BSE epidemic, all beef from cattle aged over 30 months has to be destroyed.

But a proposal being considered by the board of the Food Standards Agency would replace this with tests for BSE instead.

Experts say a rapid fall in cases of the disease, and the presence of other safeguards, justifies a change in the rules.

However, a risk assessment carried out ahead of today's meeting indicates that replacing the ban could lead to a slight increase in cases of variant CJD, the human form of mad cow disease, over the next 60 years - although it could be as little as one or two.

Under the recommendation, meat from cattle aged over 30 months, but born after August 1 1996, would be allowed back into the human food chain after screening from next January.