Calderdale Council is planning to extend the graveyard at Lumbutts Methodist Church to provide a burial ground for the residents of Todmorden.
Paul Stubbs, manager of Calderdale Council's funeral services, said that currently the burial facilities in Todmorden are provided by local churches. Most of these are running low on land for new graves.
As a result, the council looked at two possible sites for an extension: St Peter's Church in Walsden and Lumbutts Methodist Church.
During a presentation to the Todmorden town council general purposes committee, Mr Stubbs said: "The methodist church approached the council to see if we want to go into partnership to ensure the future of the graveyard.
"The Methodist Church have held firm that their preferred partner would be the council if the scheme comes to fruition."
Mr Stubbs said Calderdale Council would manage the land but it would still be owned by the church.
"The idea is to provide a burial ground for the residents of Todmorden but also to secure the future for the church as well," he said.
"We would like to form a partnership committee with the methodist church and think it would be useful for some residents to sit on the committee so we could assess the mood of the village.
"The graveyard is there for the benefit of the Todmorden district.
"Neither the church nor the council will discriminate against anyone wishing to use the cemetery."
Mr Stubbs said that other than the churches, the only other option for residents requiring new graves was to go to Calderdale Council or an adjacent local authority and pay premium rates.
He said there are no plans to create additional access to the graveyard.
"There have been concerns about the roads in Lumbutts," he said.
"At the moment there are between 15 and 18 burials a year. The church is also used for weddings and other celebrations.
"We are not intending to form any additional access on the road. We will use the existing access.
"It's one of the few areas that's actually served by a regular bus service. We will remove part of the boundary wall to create the extension.
"The church sits in the middle of a conservation area. We will look carefully at anything we want to do and use sympathetic materials," he said.
A woodland area will be created as part of the extension.
Mr Stubbs said: "We looked very closely at the death rates in Todmorden and the projected rates for the next 20 years.
"We anticipate no more than 25 burials over the year. We don't think that's excessive."
Mr Stubbs said that, on average, 70 per cent of families choose to have a cremation and 30 per cent opt for a burial.
Mr Stubbs said the council will be consulting with residents to get their opinion on the proposed extension.
The town council thanked Mr Stubbs for his presentation and wholly supported his efforts to gain a graveyard for Todmorden.
Coun Carolann Trustlove-Smith said: "We definitely need a graveyard in Todmorden.
"I'm very pleased to see that you have set aside a woodland area because quite a lot of people are looking to have funerals that way."
Coun Rob Goldthorpe thought the extension was suitable.
"It's a nice, quiet place to contemplate and look out over the view," he said.