High Court judge quashes planning permission for crematorium in Cornwall

Two objectors have convinced the High Court to quash planning permission granted by Cornwall Council for a large crematorium.

Cornerstone Barristers, whose Richard Ground KC and John Fitzsimons acted for the objectors, said there were “few if any planning cases where so many grounds of challenge have succeeded”.

It said Sir Duncan Ouseley, sitting as High Court judge, quashed permission for what would have been one of the largest crematoria in the country on six grounds.

Sir Duncan found legal errors by Cornwall included failure to consider viability and failure to interpret correctly a key policy in the local plan.

The judge also found Cornwall had failed to interpret correctly and consider a breach of the landscape policy, failed to apply section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and had not considered the  disadvantage of longer journeys by corteges to the site. There was also a legal error in relation to conditions.

Objectors Gemma Watton and Jonathan Cameron made separate though at points overlapping cases concerning the impact of the crematorium on their properties and local amenity.

Atlantic View Crematorium Consortium had gained consent for the site in open country at Poundstock, three miles south of Bude.

Sir Duncan was told this would have been among the largest crematoria and called it “a controversial and unusual proposal”.

He noted: “Their many grounds of challenge focus on the content and reasoning of the officer's report to the council's planning committee which recommended that planning permission be granted. Permission was granted, subject to conditions, which are also challenged.”

Mark Smulian