Fight's backon as plan resurrected

Mercia Crematoria Ltd has revived its proposal for the funeral facility to be built on a field south of the village.

Its fresh application has come five months after the firm withdrew its original plan before Arun District Council could consider it. More than 200 people objected to the crematorium.

Campaigners have vowed to renew their opposition to the intended building. Phil Robinson, of Grevatts Lane West, said: 'Mercia want to use this site and are determined to use it. But they cannot prove an over-riding need for the crematorium. We think this totally ruins their application. We are confident the council will once and for all, kick this thing out.

Mercia wants to build the crematorium with 90 car parking spaces and a memorial garden on land north of Ryebank Rife, opposite Bilsham Corner, and west of Bilsham Road.

Eight changes have been made to the original proposal, formally submitted last November, the firm states. These included an independent assessment by the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management for the need for a crematorium, a more detailed site search with 13 alternatives, a revised layout of the 2.83 hectare plot to overcome Environment Agency comments about the floodplain, and an extended car park.

'The conclusion reached was that a location between Bognor, Middleton and Littlehampton would not only serve the largest proportion of the population of Arun, but would reduce distances and inconvenience for mourners across the district,' the firm said.

The need for a crematorium arises from difficulties in obtaining a preferred slot for a cremation service locally, the distance to travel to existing crematoria, the age profile and death rate of the area's population and the need to accommodate larger coffins up to 42in wide as obesity increases.

Mourners travelling to the services will have no effect on Comet Corner, Mercia maintains. Concerns about the impact on the notorious junctions were one of the reasons why the previous application was shelved.

The crematorium would add 3.5 per cent to the existing off-peak traffic when its consultants reckon the average queue length from Bilsham Road to the A259 is three vehicles. The maximum number was 17 between 5pm and 6pm.

'It is, therefore, clear that the perceived capacity issue of Comet Corner largely relates to peak hours,' Mercia continues. However, the company will pay 42,120 towards improvements there.

Mr Robinson dismissed Mercia's efforts. He said it was insulting to residents to downplay the worries about Comet Corner. The survey took no account of the volume or speed of traffic along the A259 which made the junction so difficult. Mercia's assertion that most of the traffic to the crematorium will travel along the A259 was meaningless, he stated. The protest website www.enoughtraffic.co.uk has been updated.

n Yapton Parish Council's planning committee will discuss the crematorium proposals at 7.30pm on August 28 at Yapton Village Hall.