THERE is still no decision on whether the Welsh Government will call in a planning application to build a Crematorium near Caersws.
The government are still mulling over the application, over a month after councillors on Powys County Council’s planning committee gave it the thumbs up.
Powys Crematorium Limited wants to build an all-new crematorium at a 13.66-hectare site north of the B4568 road at Ael Y Bryn between Caersws and Aberhafesp.
County councillor for Dolforwyn, Cllr Gareth Pugh (Conservative), is registered as the only company director for Powys Crematorium Limited on the Companies House website and had to leave the planning meeting while the application was discussed.
A Welsh Government spokesperson, said: “While the planning application rests with the local planning authority, we are considering if it raises any issues which will warrant the decision being made by the Minister.”
Further calls have been made on the Welsh Government to call in the application.
A petition to reject the crematorium has been started by the residents of nearby Aberhafesb which lies between Caersws and Newtown.
The villagers believed the road is too dangerous to take the extra volume of traffic that the Crematorium would create.
They say: “If this application has not already been called-in, we request that it is called in.
“The residents of Aberhafesp Village feel that the planning discussion and process was flawed, and that no consideration was given to the impact of the development on the village in terms of road safety.
“The village of Aberhafesp is approximately 2.5 kilometres from the Crematorium site, but Highways estimate that 40-45 per cent of the Crematorium traffic will pass through the village.”
“Our concern with this application is the risk to residents’ safety that the increased traffic on the B4568 will bring, its effect on the village of Aberhafesp.
Agent for Powys Crematorium ltd Alan Southerby, said that the application meets “all technical requirements.”
He believed it would be an “exciting proposition for Powys,” as it means that people don’t have to leave the county to access cremation services.
If the Welsh Government don’t call the application in, the planning committee’s decision will come into force.
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