Cremation facility in green belt is allowed

THE SECRETARY of State has declined to call in plans to build a new crematorium on an area of green belt in south Bradford.

Last month Bradford Council’s Regulatory and Appeals Committee approved plans to build the new facility on a field off Shetcliffe Lane, Bierley.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, could have called in the plan due to the green belt issue – a designation that prevents development except in the most pressing circumstances.

As he hasn’t, the council decision stands.

The crematorium is part of the authority’s bereavement strategy and is intended to replace the facility at Scholemoor Cemetery which the council says is way beyond its operating use.

There had been numerous objections to the plans, including from Bradford South MP Judith Cummins.

Bradford Council had argued that the facility at Scholemoor was not large enough to contain newer cremation ovens needed to meet emission standards.

Just two sites in the South of the district – this one and Littlemoor Park in Queensbury – met the criteria for locations for crematoria.

This week the Secretary of State informed Bradford Council that he would not be calling in the decision – meaning the plans can go ahead. The Minister could have delayed or halted the scheme if it was called in.

A Bradford Council spokesperson, said: “We have received confirmation from the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government that the planning application for a new crematorium in Bierley, which was recently approved by Bradford Council, will not be called in by his department.

“The new crematorium will replace the existing facility at Scholemoor although it is too early to say when the works will start.”