Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:37 pm on 22 March 2023.
Thank you to Russell George for raising this issue this afternoon. I am aware of the particular application to which he refers, which was called in and then subsequently refused. The reasons for that are set out in the decision letter, and, because it is open to the applicant to challenge the decision in the High Court, I won't say any more about that application today. But I understand the more general request for information, and, I suppose, the advice would be for the interested private business to have discussions with the local authority in the first instance, because assessment for the need for crematoriums is locally led, and local planning authorities will need to take into account a range of factors, such as drive time, catchment for the existing provision—Russell George has set out some of the challenges there—the capacity of existing provision, and population and demographics, as well as planned housing developments in the area. And, obviously, the authority would want to take into account the views of the local residents as well. Guidance on the establishment of crematoria, including meeting the requirements under the legislation, is available from the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities, and that might be another source of useful information for the individual concerned, and for Russell George.