Flooding and “decimation to wildlife” outside a new crematorium has been blamed on an alleged planning breach during construction.

Villagers claim the site has caused severe damage to habitats in the pond in Staple Street near Faversham, leading to a council investigation.

It follows the construction of the Faversham and Mid Kent Memorial Park and Crematorium in Boughton which has sparked objections and led to calls for Swale Borough Council to take enforcement action.

The road flooded last Thursday and was closed by Kent County Council, causing some drivers to have to take a detour.

Residents first became alarmed last year when they saw contractors clearing scrub around the pond, which is not on the crematorium site, and laying a drainage pipe into it.

They claim it is now not only being used to drain the site but also for partly-treated sewage from the crematorium – something bosses have flatly denied is taking place.

Memoria insists that foul water is treated and contained on site before being tankered away and “not a drop” is going into the pond.

Boughton parish councillor and environmentalist Sarah Moakes says the pond is a “vital, highly sensitive riparian habitat” but has been destroyed by the works.

“It is shocking to think that this used to be an important local wildlife pond and a known breeding site for protected great crested newt,” she said.

“This one is likely fed by an underground aquifer which means the water is – or was – of exceptional purity.”

She fears even “any treated effluent” entering the water course would “prove toxic” although no tests into the water quality have been carried out.

Ms Moakes added: “Memoria’s ecological consultants considered the pond ‘locally significant’ yet not being part of the development site, it was not considered at risk and no survey was ever carried out.

“But contractors have dredged it with a mechanical excavator, stripped the banks of vegetation and felled a number of trees in the process.”

She claims the severe flooding responsible for causing the closure of Staple Street Road is the “inevitable and entirely foreseeable consequence” of the construction of Memoria’s new crematorium and its drainage scheme.

Planning permission was granted in 2021 for the construction of a new crematorium and gardens of remembrance, and one of the pre-commencement conditions required details of a sustainable surface water drainage scheme.

But residents say application details say there was no mention of using the natural pond as part of drainage works, which is what has been carried out.

This week, deputy chief executive of Memoria, Jamieson Hodgson rejected allegations the site is responsible for the road flooding and denied the pond is contaminated with effluent.

‘It is shocking to think that this used to be an important local wildlife pond...’

He believes the continued flooding in Staple Street Road is being caused by blocked drains which the highway authority is responsible for.

“I have seen the water pouring down the road to where it pools at the bottom and can’t run away,” he said.

“I fully understand villagers’ concerns because it is something that as a business with visiting bereaved families we do not want either.

“But the road is not remaining flooded due to our site and we are working with Swale Borough Council to demonstrate that and show our existing drainage scheme is appropriate.

“We have constructed our own on-site attenuation pond to deal with surface water from the hardstanding which will only overflow into the natural pond via a ditch in exceptional circumstances and that did happen recently.

“But the fact that the water in the road is still not draining away shows the problem is there.”

Now both residents and Hernhill and Boughton Parish Councils, which originally objected to the crematorium on drainage grounds, have written to the borough council calling for an investigation.

Swale Borough Council says national planning policy recommends “working with developers to overcome planning breaches”, rather than moving straight to enforcement action.

A spokesman said: “The developer belatedly submitted details and the application was recently refused because the drainage details failed to demonstrate that the development would not lead to flooding at the Staple Road junction and nearby pond.

“The applicant is currently liaising with Kent County Council Flood and Water Management Team to reach a solution.

“Should the applicant fail to address the breach, the council will need to consider next steps, which could include an enforcement notice.”