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Proposals to build a £6 million crematorium on the outskirts of Faversham have sparked fears of increased traffic problems.
Funeral firm Memoria wants to construct a new base on farmland off the Thanet Way at Staple Street, where it will conduct almost 1,000 services a year.
They say an independent assessment has revealed “clear evidence” more crematorium capacity is needed, especially in north Kent where they calculate 146,700 people would be closer to the proposed facility than any other.
Therefore, after consulting with residents and sending out 4,000 survey leaflets, they have submitted proposals to Swale Borough Council for a “tranquil” new crematorium and memorial gardens near to the large Dunster House warehouse.
But the scheme, which will include a 100-space car park, has attracted a number of critics who fear it will lead to more traffic passing through the narrow roads of Staplestreet and Hernhill, and a dangerous build-up of queues coming off the Thanet Way.
Commenting on the plans, Michael Hodgkiss, a Hernhill resident, said: “This presents an unrealistic picture of the effect of traffic whether accessing from via Staple Street - a busy narrow country lane with passing places - or from the A299 which will back up dangerously at peak times.”
Villager Edward Kearton said: “To get in and out of your village you should not have to manage timings around large funeral traffic.
“Locating this at the mouth of a main road to a single country lane is poor planning.”
Surrounding parish councils have also criticised the proposals, suggesting the junction off the Thanet Way is unsuitable to cater for an influx of vehicles.
In contrast, a transport assessment carried out by Bellamy Roberts on behalf of the developers, stresses the new crematorium “will not give rise to material highway safety or capacity issues” on the existing road network.
They indicate that each service at the Hernill venue will attract an average of 27 additional vehicle movements in the area.
And as a result of mourners not having to travel as far to other memorial grounds, they predict 13 million miles of car journeys will be saved over the next 50 years. They therefore stress a belief that the new venue will reduce the number of cars on the road.
“The provision of a crematorium in the proposed location would provide both ease of access from the wider road network, reduce the long distances currently travelled by the surrounding population to existing crematoria, and be accessible by sustainable transport modes,” they say.
“For the vast majority of visitors to a crematorium, it is not a regular visit. Furthermore, mourners usually rally round and car-share with relatives and friends.”
Memoria says Thanet, Barham and Maidstone’s Vinters Park crematoriums are currently running over capacity.
Should the Swale site be given the green light, funeral services will be hosted on an hourly cycle, Monday to Saturday.
The site would also cater for a small number of traditional and natural burials each year, and will be entered from a spur road off the existing private road to the neighbouring Faversham Showground, which would only host events on Sundays.
