Government give go ahead to Eastleigh crematorium (From Daily Echo)

Government give go ahead to Eastleigh crematorium

1:24pm Monday 24th November 2008 in News By Peter Law, Feature Writer

EASTLEIGH will finally have its own crematorium after a Government appointed inspector controversially approved a £2.5m scheme.

It will mean that for the first time, Eastleigh residents will be able to lay their loved ones to rest in their home borough.

Independent inspector John Head gave the go-ahead to the privately operated facility after overruling Eastleigh Borough Council’s rejection of the application last year.

Council leader Cllr Keith House last night described the inspector’s decision to dismiss fears over the impact the building would have on the rural landscape as a “kick in the teeth”.

Westerleigh Group, the company behind the bid, claimed it would be one of the most environmentally friendly crematoriums in Britain and cremations would cost about £400.

It means Eastleigh will be £200 cheaper than five miles up the M27 at Southampton’s crematorium, in Bassett, where the city council wants to hike fees to £600 as of January 1.

Work will begin on the one-storey building, to rise up on land at Bubb Lane and Burnetts Lane, West End, in early spring.

Westerleigh Group managing director Richard Evans anticipated doors would open in just 12 months’ time and they intend to hold about 1,500 funerals a year.

“We felt from the beginning, because we worked so hard with the officers to find the site, that the application was right and were very surprised when the committee didn’t support the strong recommendations by their own officers,” Mr Evans said.

“That is water under in the bridge now and we’re just very pleased that the inspector has allowed the appeal.

"We are keen to start work in earnest.This appeal has delayed us for 14 months and you must remember that it was the council who contacted us because they knew that there was a desperate need in the area.

“Funeral directors that I have been speaking to in the past week have been overjoyed because they have to endure some quite difficult conditions over at Southampton because it is so busy.”

Plans include a single chapel with seating for 96 and additional standing room for up to 150 people, with 75 carparking spaces. Existing agricultural land would be converted into a garden of remembrance.

Councillors last year rejected the proposal after hearing concerns from residents about pollution and traffic problems.

The inspector ruled the development would cause no material harm to the character or appearance of the surrounding rural area or to the value and function of the strategic gap separating Eastleigh from Southampton.

Cllr House said: “We are disappointed that the Government’s inspector has failed to understand the importance of the green gap between West End and Hedge End’s Grange Park, and the traffic fears raised by residents in and around Moorgreen Road.

“This is another kick in the teeth by the Government that has removed green gaps from its South East Plan.”

There are about 1,100 deaths in the borough each year, but residents have to travel to Southampton to lay their loved ones to rest.

The pressure on the city’s crematorium is enormous and many Eastleigh funerals are pushed to the back of the queue, which all adds to the strain of the grieving process, according to leading local clergymen.

However, Mr Evans said he did not believe Southampton residents would now be queuing up to hold their funerals in Eastleigh.

“We expect it to be cheaper than Southampton and if we were opening today it would be around the £400 mark and we would certainly be keen to keep prices down. We will be nowhere near the £600 figure,” he said.

“People who live and work in Southampton will still want to use their local crematorium, £600 is a surprise to us, but obviously the council is looking to fund an improvement programme.”