Page 8 - October 2015 Issue 299

8 THE NEW COUNTESTHORPE HERALD
OCTOBER 2015
Crematorium company challenged the Countesthorpe appeal decision in the High Court. They lost.
David Jennings. Countesthorpe Parish Councillor / Blaby District Councillor / Leicestershire County Councillor.
Home telephone 2774263.
Email david.jennings@leics.gov.uk .
Dear Editor
I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say that many of your readers would have served in the Royal Navy at some time or other. The older ones seeing service in the Second World War and would no doubt recently have been casting their thoughts back to the end of the war, either Europe or later Japan with all of the commemorations around the Country. Those a little younger being called up for National Service, the younger still serving in our much reduced Royal Navy.
One thing is certain, they will all think back and remember the camaraderie and friendships formed at the time, only to be broken when moved to a different ship or shore base. There will be the occasional thoughts being cast back to “I wonder what happened to old Chalky White on H.M.S. Rustybucket?”
Well a lot have found out what happened to their ‘Old Chalky White’ because lots of the ships have Associations, full of their old shipmates and a new monthly service has recently started to help find all of the other ‘Old Chalkies’ or whoever is being looked for. “Those in the Buffer’s party at H.M.S.Collingwood in the mid 1950’s” or “That Chef off H.M.S. Tupperware in 1988” because many of the Ship’s Association Secretaries are sending details of their reunions to R.N.Shipmates for the monthly listings of reunions and
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor
I write to comment on the letter from Ted Humphreys on page 8 in the last issue of the Countesthorpe Herald (August 2015 No. 298). It would appear that he is unaware of the true situation.
A company called Memoria applied to Blaby District Council for planning permission to build a Crematorium off Foston Road in Countesthorpe. The application was REFUSED. Memoria lodged an appeal against the refusal. This takes the decision away from Blaby District Council. Such appeals do not come under the control of any council. There is an office in Bristol which deals with such things. A Planning Inspector from Bristol is appointed to determine the appeal. It is all down to one man. In this case, the Inspector decided that Blaby District Council were wrong to refuse the application. In his judgement, he states that there were no reasons to refuse it. Not only did he grant permission, he awarded Memoria the sum of £24,000 in damages, to be paid by Blaby District Council. The only conditions put on the planning permission were those put on by the Planning Inspector. He did not do a very good job. There was not any condition relating to how many Mourners can attend. The site is suitable for the average funeral, but not suitable for large numbers. Several times, the village has been clogged up by large numbers of Mourners. I refer to page 9 in the same issue, where photographs taken by Ed G. of Rosebank Road show just how bad the
situation can be. The site in Countesthorpe is 1.8 Hectares, less than the minimum requirement of 2.00 Hectares for a Crematorium. The Inspector ignored this fact. The very same Inspector determined a Planning Appeal in Great Glen ( Market Harborough District Council ) for another Crematorium on land owned by the Co- Op. This site covers 12.4 hectares, seven times the size of the Countesthorpe one. He also granted approval for this. Do we really need two? So what can be done? Leicestershire County Council could be asked to put a Traffic Regulation Order on Rosebank Road and other roads. This would stop Mourners parking there, but it would also stop residents parking outside their own homes. The County Council could operate a Residents Parking Scheme. Such a scheme would cost between £5,000 and £15,000 to install. There would also be an annual charge for this of £140 to each property. Residents would not have a reserved place, and may never be able to park outside their own homes. Visitors ( Mourners ), would still be able to park without penalty for up to an hour. Residents may request an H – Bar being painted on the road outside their home. This has no legal significance, but motorists tend not to park on it. The residents would have to pay for this at £130 a time. Each of these options requires the residents to pay for all schemes. It is absolutely barmy !! We local Councillors knew that the Countesthorpe site would cause problems. The Planning Inspector from Bristol ignored it all. If you want to blame anyone for this, may I suggest you start with the Planning Inspector from Bristol. We know Countesthorpe He does not. He messed up big time. Another
Gemma Taylor
Health & Fitness
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