Crematorium plans finally scrapped

Development surveyor for Mercia Crematoria Andy Marshall confirmed to the Observer on Tuesday that the developer had withdrawn its latest planning application and would allow its option on the site to lapse, as it no longer wanted to go ahead.

"We would never say never, but it is not our intention to build there."

It is the second time that the developer has withdrawn its proposals after first submitting an application for the 1.5m scheme, next to the B2131 on the western side of Bilsham Road in October last year.

It later withdrew the planning application after the developers claimed they had listened to public concerns, only to submit another, six months later in March, which has now also been withdrawn.

Referring to a two-page letter to Arun District Council from Mercia withdrawing the application, principal planning officer Keith Whewey told the Observer that the developers still maintained there was a 'significant' need for the crematorium.

But, said Mr Whewey: "They had talked to me but I wasn't convinced there was an overriding need for a crematorium in a countryside location."

Protesters who ran a hard-fought battle to stop the development going ahead are delighted with the news.

Phil Robinson who set up campaign and a website as opposition grew to the scheme said the news was 'a great victory for all who took part'.

"We are delighted at this but also aware that the application could be re-submitted. How-ever we feel that the overwhelming evidence against a need for another facility, will mean that this is unlikely to be accepted in the foreseeable future.

"This is a great victory for all who took part in the campaign, delivered fliers, made banners and posters, attended meetings and wrote in with their objections. It shows that Yapton will fight any application which needlessly threatens its community and its environs."

News of the crematorium plans provoked wide-spread fears when they first submitted. Claimed to ease the burden on the busy Chichester and Worthing facilities, developers said that the site was chosen because it was equidistant from Bognor Regis and Littlehampton and close to the A259.

But protests grew following a public exhibition last November and an action group, Enough Traffic, was formed to campaign against the crematorium. Residents were concerned about the traffic it would generate through the village and the impact on the nearby traffic blackspot at Comet Corner.

The risk of flooding, lack of pavements, streetlighting and limited public transport were all weighted against the crematorium, as was the loss of an agricultural field to development, leading to the spread of the village.