Co-Operative join the dig up the fields Brigade

An unlikely player has joined the dig up the fields Brigade to decimate the British countryside by building a crematorium on a green field site in rural Leicestershire. This is despite objections to the plans from the local council and  residents of the village of Great Glen which 7 miles to the south east of the city of Leicester.

The site of the crematorium is on 30 acres of farmland that is owned by the Co-Operative just off of the A6 London Road. Originally the scheme is rejected by the council on the grounds that that the project failed to meet policies on landscaping and design, however this was overturned by Government inspectors. The council had asked  asked the inspector to hold a public inquiry in the village, however the requests were refused despite the huge opposition to these proposals, by the Government inspectors. In my opinion typical of this Conservative Governments Policy to develop greenfield sites without listening to local people.

The Co-op scheme is opposed by villagers and organisations in Great Glen who do not want the funeral centre on their doorstep. Peter Hockenhull said he and other Great Glen residents had been left "extremely disappointed" by the plans."Villagers have got a number of major issues that concern them," he said."We wants assurance that lorries won't go through the village during construction" While staff at a nearby school said it would be an inappropriate and insensitive site given its proximity to young children.

County councillor for Great Glen, Kevin Feltham, said: "I'm very disappointed he has overruled the decision made by local councillors.". Currently the Council are investigating if they can put in a legal challenge to overturn the Government Inspectors decision. However Leader of the Council, Blake Pain, said there was "little action the council could now take as further appeals could be costly.". This could mean that basically the council have been silenced just because of the process which seems so undemocratic when so many oppose the plan.

Co-Operative are under going restructuring to secure the groups future because of losses inured by its banking business, during the banking crisis and affects the business today. In the local area of the development they have already sold off some 4,700 acres of farmland at the Stoughton Estate, east of Leicester, to health charity the Wellcome Trust. At one point it was hoped the site for the crematorium would be part of this deal, but the land was retained by the Co-Operative for the development of crematorium for their funeral business.

A spokesman for the Co-Operative, according to reports said "We are naturally delighted to have been granted permission". Before going on to say "It has been our belief from the beginning that its construction will be enormously beneficial." Which isn't a lie as the profits will go straight into the Co-Operative's bank account while another 30 archers of land will produce food this country needs. All this from a company claims it is “Championing a better way to do business for you and your community". Well it just goes to show what they think of the community of  Great Glen.

I personally think it is wrong that the views of local people should be walked over without at least the Government Inspector listening face to face the local residents so they could raise their concerns to the effect it would have on the local community. As for the Co-Operative I don't know how they can claim that they champion a better way to do business for the community when they don't listen to the community. Finally there is the loss of the farm land, yes it is only 30 acres, but add all these projects up and we are losing tens of thousands if not more acres of farmland year. Land we need to feed our children and their children.