A burial ground containing human remains situated in a city centre is set to be sold to a property developer.

Setha hopes to use the graveyard, attached to the redundant St Margaret’s Church in Canterbury, as part of a huge new housing complex.

The Church of England has promised bones and coffins will not be disturbed as the firm works to construct a building containing 65 homes and covered market hall.

Setha is overhauling land next to site, where former the Nasons Department Store was based, as part of its £26 million Biggleston Yard project.

Some of the old headstones have already been moved to the grounds’ perimeter, but the disruption of more of the memorials has not been ruled out.

If Setha wishes to make further changes to the stones – with some dating back to the 1900s – it will be required to request permissions from the Church Commissioners.

The Church of England has begun selling the deconsecrated land and asked for people to share their views.

In planning papers lodged with Canterbury City Council, Setha said the open space provided by the graveyard is “quite a find” within a medieval city.

It stressed the cemetery will be opened to the public, adding: “With the incorporation of the deconsecrated churchyard of St Margaret’s, the site now offers a decent portion of open space which can be made publicly accessible, something which is generally quite a find within a tightly-packed medieval city such as Canterbury.

“We have developed the open-space design to enhance the setting of St Margaret’s church and yard.

“The design proposals reflect the historic setting of the churchyard and the unique surroundings, to encourage users to spend time within the site and absorb the history and setting.

“The plans include the removal of random refuse bins, fencing and foliage and create a more open approach for the church to not only be visually appreciated from the churchyard but also its relationship with it.”

The graveyard is attached to the Grade II-listed St Margaret’s church, which was the home of The Canterbury Tales attraction from 1987 until its closure in 2020.

Two years ago the garden and burial ground was closed to the public after a spate of anti-social behaviour.

After it was discovered that the cast-iron churchyard gates, which are also listed, were damaged and could no longer be securely closed.

A decision was made to shut off the area to prevent further anti-social behaviour.

Work has since been taking place to repair the 200-year-old hinges and decorative newel post.

Now the hidden garden in the heart of the city is set to reopen to the public as it has been agreed for sale by the church to the development company.

But visitors to the historic quarter will not have to wait for the completion of Biggleston Yard, as it is expected the repairs will be complete and the graveyard reopened in the next six weeks.

The Nasons family department store closed in September 2018 and was followed by Debenhams opposite in January 2020, ripping the retail heart out of Canterbury.

The Nasons site is owned by London-based property investor and development company the Setha Group, which is working closely with award-winning architects Child Graddon Lewis and Clague.

It has rebranded it Biggleston Yard in recognition of the one-acre location's historical connections.

On the site is a mid-19th century foundry used by HM Biggleston & Sons - a six-generation family business that produced iron castings, railway girders, lamp-posts and other street furniture. The foundry is to be retained and refurbished, and the forge repurposed and integrated within the scheme.

The architects previously claimed the development will be an exciting, new retail destination, and a place to live and stay in the heart of Canterbury.

No timeframe has yet been given on when work will start or when the development is expected to be complete.

The project has already faced setbacks, including being forced to go to the courts to evict squatters, and having been halted, like many local residential schemes, by the Stodmarsh lakes issue.

In 2020 Stodmarsh lakes were found to have damaging levels of nitrogen and phosphorus, likely originating from sewage discharge prompting Natural England to pause large scale housing developments.

The Setha Group has been contacted for comment.