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Notes from the first meeting of the Crematorium Community Liaison Group

10 December 2014

The Jubilee Hall,

Apologies

 Cllr Hugh McCarthy – Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee/Wycombe District Council  Cllr Peter Cooper – District Council  Cllr Julie Ward – Aylesbury Vale District Council  Councillor Howard Mordue – Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee/Aylesbury Vale District Council  Mrs Carlisle

Attendees

Name Organisation Rachel Prance Chiltern District Council Cllr Graham Harris (Chiltern DC) Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee Anna Monaghan Haverstock Architects James Corcoran Haverstock Architects Del Tester Origin (transport consultant) Cllr Peter Martin (Chiltern DC) Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee Charles Howlett (Chilterns Crematorium) Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee Cllr Tony Green (Wycombe DC) Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee Cllr Brian Roberts (Aylesbury DC) CHAIR Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee Chris Marchant Chiltern District Council Caroline Wheller Aylesbury Vale District Council Bruce Lewington resident Keith & Valerie Miller Rowsham Road residents Sharon Michaels Hulcott Parish Council Peter Bowden Rowsham Road resident Terry Russell Rowsham Road resident Jeff Shirley Rowsham Road resident Bill Horne Bierton with Broughton Parish Council Beverley Drury Bierton resident Mike & Christine Elliot Bierton residents Mr & Mrs Cochrane Bierton residents Alan Pitcher Rowsham Road resident Karen Bryant Bierton resident Keith Miller Bierton with Broughton Parish Council Paul Keen Rowsham Road resident Jill Deacon Rowsham Road resident Cllr Bill Chapple County Council Michael Francis Resident Ian Pleeth Resident/Hulcott Parish Council David Neave with Rowsham Parish Council Sheila Cotton Bierton with Broughton Parish Council R.J & J.W Wooding Rowsham Road residents Frank Baker Great Lane resident

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Chairman

Councillor Brian Roberts chaired the meeting – Aylesbury Vale District Councillor and member of the Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee.

Purpose of the meetings

Chris Marchant, Head of Service at Chiltern District Council explained the aim and purpose of the group i.e. to act as a link between the community and the Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee before, during and after construction of the Aylesbury Crematorium.

Terms of reference for the group

Rachel Prance, Principal Officer for Communications at Chiltern District Council went through the terms of reference for the group. These will be placed on the Chilterns Crematorium website alongside agendas and notes from meetings for future reference – www.chilternscrematorium.co.uk

Frequency of the meetings

The group said they would prefer an evening meeting held at the Jubilee Hall starting at 6pm but not on a Tuesday or Wednesday if possible.

Update of the Aylesbury Crematorium project

The building of the Aylesbury Crematorium will be fully funded by the CCJC who will be operating the crematorium when it is built.

The planning application was considered at the AVDC Strategic Development Control Committee meeting on 9 July 2014 and the decision notice which included conditions relating to archaeology and traffic was issued on 28 October 2014.

£85k has been allocated to spend on a public consultation about how the traffic will be handled. The consultation will be run by Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) and is expected to start in January/February 2015 and run for six weeks. At the same time ground works will start on the site. The group were reassured that this work would not be on the final entrance but just for site access. Clear directional signage will be placed on the roads leading to the site prior to the main construction works starting.

Keith Miller from Bierton Parish Council asked how strong the commitments to position bollards and close Rowsham Road were. He was assured that the CCJC are in favour but it is not in their gift and BCC will only carry out these works if the public consultation shows the majority want it.

The small number of great crested newts which are currently on the site will be relocated in February as per the planning conditions.

The main construction phase at the site will start early-mid April and is expected to be for a 12-month period. The crematorium is expected to open early May 2016 as planned.

Questions were asked about the planning application for a crematorium at Watermead in Aylesbury which was being heard at AVDC at the same time as the meeting. Would

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approval and the potential Judicial Review damage the Aylesbury Crematorium business case? The group were assured that the Aylesbury Crematorium business case was robust, funding was available (no borrowing required) and works on the site will start in January as planned.

Traffic concerns

This was the biggest issue for the group worried that the historic problems with traffic in the area would be exacerbated when the new Aylesbury Crematorium was being built and in operation.

Safety - the group wanted to know what traffic management plans would be in place when construction starts – they were told the planning conditions require a Construction Management Plan to be in place and this will include safety issues and vehicle movements including the requirement to wash construction vehicle wheels before driving onto the highway/.

With regard to safety, specific mention was made of local concerns regarding the impact on already ‘dangerous’ junctions and crossroads in the centre of Bierton due to the state of mind of people coming and going from services at the crematorium. Questions were asked about road-works to Cane End Lane junction with main road – advised that none being carried out as BCC ‘satisfied’ no changes required. There was a lot of concern expressed about this at the meeting – near unanimous view that crossroads not safe and there will be an accident. Suggestions were made for roundabout or traffic lights. One resident did point out that Chilterns Crematorium which was very much busier than the proposed Aylesbury Crematorium would be is accessed off a very busy main road without major problems, although there is a right hand turn lane and 50mph limit. The CCJC said it would write to BCC advising them that this view has been strongly expressed at the liaison meeting.

Construction traffic using Cane End Lane - the group were assured that construction traffic would be directed to use Cane End Lane and that as part of the planning permission, the CCJC is obliged to re-instate Cane End Lane to its current condition if any damage occurs due to construction traffic.

There was also concern expressed that the construction traffic could frighten horse-riders who frequently use Cane End Lane and this needs to be taken into consideration.

The group made the point that with a number of significant construction projects likely to be undertaken in the area over the next few years, BCC need to do some ‘joined up’ thinking in relation to traffic management – ‘it is already bad enough’.

Keith Miller of Bierton Parish Council asked for clarification as to what the highways works planning conditions involved. These appear in the planning permission under items 10, 11, 12 and 13 within the Decision Notice issued by AVDC. These can be viewed here: https://publicaccess.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/online- applications/files/DF090AE59E488F7A7951953FAC71A805/pdf/14_01125_APP-APPROVED- 1276674.pdf

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As the majority of questions asked at the meeting were about traffic and highways issues, the CCJC agreed that following the public consultation, which is expected to start in January, they would write to Buckinghamshire County Council (the Highways Authority) detailing the large number of concerns expressed by the local residents particularly about the safety of the junction of Cane End Lane and the busy main road.

Any other business/additional questions asked

What happens if the roads have to be shut down in an emergency? How will the crematorium operate?

Charles Howlett (CCJC and Superintendent Registrar at the Chilterns Crematorium) replied to this stating that they work closely with funeral directors and if this does happen they will reschedule the services. This has happened before at the Chilterns Crematorium due to snowy weather and they have managed to work around it as best they can.

Will the burning times be restricted and what measures will be in place to regulate emissions?

Charles Howlett said the emissions are tightly controlled with the use of filters, modern equipment and strictly enforced legislation. Air quality assessment is one of the conditions of the planning permission.

Will there be any disruption to local amenities – water, gas, electric?

No, there will not be any significant disruption to local amenities as gas will be brought in from the mains supply; water from a nearby hydrant and electricity from the mains supply. At the request of the group, the amenities issues will be included on the agenda for the next meeting.

Visit to the Aylesbury Crematorium site

Charles Howlett offered the opportunity to visit the site to any residents wanting reassurance about how Aylesbury Crematorium will operate.

Date and time for the next meeting:

March/April 2015 at the Jubilee Hall when there is something more to discuss.

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