DESPITE receiving more than 300 objections the final go-ahead has been given for a crematorium to be built on 5.9ha of land off the A39 at Poundstock.

The Atlantic View Crematorium company is owned by a group of landowners and funeral directors who identified a need for a crematorium in North Cornwall. The new crematorium will enable up to four cremations a day with a ceremony space for up to 160 people. There will be three buildings – a lodge containing administration offices, the cremators, books of remembrance, meeting space and staff facilities; visitor cloakrooms and a ceremony building with two spaces, a vestry and viewing room. The memorial grounds will have a circular walk, pond and sea views with opportunities for scattering and internment of cremated remains.

Bude-Stratton Town Council welcomed the scheme saying it would benefit grieving families who had to travel at least an hour to Bodmin or Barnstaple. And the applicant’s consultation website had 121 supportive comments.

But Marhamchurch Parish Council had reservations pointing out permission had been granted for a crematorium in the same catchment area on agricultural land in Holsworthy. But Upper Tamar Crematorium was unable to get financial backing as it was not thought to be a viable investment and 13 years later Torridge District Council acquired the site for a new livestock market.

The parish council report concluded: ‘While I have no doubt the applicants are genuine in their concern for the distress of grieving relatives, should permission be granted for the proposal, the site will be open to possibilities for alternative commercial development in the highly likely event the project fails to attract the estimated minimum £6m investment required.’

Sheridon Rosser, who runs Atlantic Rest Natural Burial 13 miles from the site, asked planners to put on a condition preventing the proposed name Atlantic View Crematorium as it was impacting her business.

She claimed she had a negative response from one of the applicants who told her they had no intention of changing the proposed name.

Dr John Knight was concerned about toxic emissions and challenged the data provided by the applicants. He claimed people living in an area including Lower Widemouth and Widemouth Fields caravan site will be at a higher risk of impact from these ‘deadly toxins’.

But, in response to this objection, the Public Protection Air Quality Planning report said that crematoria is a highly controlled combustion process designed to effectively reduce the body to ash through complete combustion.

It pointed out that the construction of a coffin and what can go into the coffin is tightly controlled to control emissions and that smoke from domestic sources such as a fireplace contains much higher concentration of dioxins than that from a well organised crematorium.

One of the conditions of the permission is that the development cannot begin until access and highway improvement details have been agreed. Highway improvements include provision of footways, a dropped kerb crossing point and two bus stops with shelters.