Court hears challenge over planning permission for crematorium

Breckland District Council is waiting the outcome of a judicial review of its decision to grant planning permission for a crematorium in rural Norfolk.

Its decision to permit the application from local funeral director Thornalley has been challenged by Dignity Funerals, which operates two crematoria in the county and proposes a third near the area involved.

A Breckland statement said: “We are awaiting the court decision so are not able to comment at this time.”

Planning permission was originally given in August 2015, but this was quashed by the High Court following a judicial review challenge to the interpretation of Breckland’s planing policy DC18, which concerns the development of community facilities in market towns, local service centre villages and other rural settlements.

When the application came back before Breckland in 2016 it was stated in a planning officers’ report to councillors that this policy did not apply as it did not cover developments such as the proposed crematorium, which would be in open countryside.

The report noted there were no crematoria in Breckland and large parts of the district fell outside the industry standard of 30 minute drive-time to a crematorium at cortege speed.