York Council has approved plans for a Pure Cremation mortuary capable of storing up to 700 bodies, despite locals branding the scheme a “human conveyor belt”. The facility, at York Business Park in Nether Poppleton, North Yorkshire, will convert a former telephone exchange into the company’s main mortuary for the North East.
The 37,673 sq ft site will hold hundreds of bodies on racks stacked five coffins high before they are transported elsewhere for cremation. It sits near a martial arts gym, nail salons and dog groomers. Dozens of objections were lodged before the plans were approved last week, with residents describing the facility as “horrific”.
Funeral director raises concerns
Local funeral director Martin Rowley, 64, said he was “disappointed” by the decision and questioned how the workforce could care for hundreds of deceased people. Rowley, who runs Rowley & Sons Family Funeral Services in York, said: “This facility just endorses the impersonal, transactional, profit driven nature of the Pure Cremations operation.
“I’m not questioning their service, rather the industrial scale of the facility. How can so few staff realistically look after so many bodies and ensure they are kept in good condition?”
Speaking when the plans were first proposed, Rowley explained that some bodies require more care than others. He said: “When we take deceased loved ones into our care, most of the bodies will be fine. But others will break down or start to decompose quickly, and require specialist care.”
Objections and approval details
Rowley, a Conservative councillor for the Osbaldwick and Derwent Ward, previously questioned how families would feel knowing their loved one was kept alongside hundreds of others. He said: “Would you want your loved one to be kept in a mortuary among the remains of 700 people? Serious questions have to be raised about this practice.”
Pure Cremation provides direct cremations, where a person is cremated without their family present or a formal funeral service. Rowley stressed his objection was not to direct cremations themselves but the size of the operation. He previously said: “There is a time and a place for unattended direct cremations - but the increased industrial scale they are suggesting with this new site is just very disturbing. All I see this site as is an inhumane conveyor belt or factory - loved ones deserve respect.”
Following the decision, he criticised how the application was determined. Rowley said: “If the council really cared about people and transparency, they would have brought this planning application to the Planning Committee for determination.”
Operation and resident anger
Under the approved plans, bodies collected from homes, care homes and hospices will be brought to the facility before being sent on to Pure Cremation’s crematoriums or third-party sites. They are expected to arrive in private ambulances and be checked before being placed in coffins, which can be stored on racks five high for up to four days.
The plans include six external cooling units, a specialist procedure area, storage space, a new roller shutter door and an operational logistics base. The facility will operate around the clock but will not be open to the public and will be monitored by CCTV.
Residents voiced anger after the decision. One said: “There is no dignity in this. Dignity is having a good undertaker to care of all aspects of giving your loved one the send off they deserve.” Another said: “It doesn’t matter how many people object, they get what they want. Someone has seen a lot of money coming!”
Liberal Democrat councillor Anne Hook had also objected, raising concerns about the impact on nearby businesses and hotels. She previously said: “People will not want to work or stay so close to such a large mortuary, and I expect there will be a reluctance for businesses to move into the estate when units become empty.” Other objections raised concerns about traffic and argued the development would provide little benefit to local independent funeral directors, florists, churches, caterers and stonemasons.
Pure Cremation rejected concerns and said the deceased would be cared for in a “dignified” and discreet environment. The company pointed to a similar facility it operates at Knutsford, Cheshire, which it said is staffed by 22 people and has operated without complaints. Its planning documents stated: “Pure Cremation occupy a similar premises on a business park in Knutsford, Cheshire, no complaints or adverse impact are reported from that site. The whole operation is dignified, quiet and discreet.”
O’Neill Associates, acting on behalf of Pure Cremation, said the development was unlikely to have a significant impact on the surrounding area. It said: “The level of employment is unlikely to have any adverse impact on the surrounding highway network. Apart from vehicles entering and leaving the site all activities, including the transfer of the deceased, occur within the building, the only noise will be from external cooling units.”
Pure Cremation’s direct cremation service costs £1,595. The company says the average cost of a traditional funeral arranged through a funeral director is around £4,700.
