Bishop joins debate on Hope crematorium

BY ALICE COWDREY

Nelson's Anglican bishop has waded into a controversial debate over plans for a crematorium at Hope's Gardens of the World, questioning why people are so scared of the "taboo" subject of death.

It is the first time Bishop Richard Ellena has made a submission during a resource consent process. He said he felt compelled to after following the "misinformation" fuelling the public debate around the application by a Nelson funeral director to establish the crematorium.

During the second day of the hearing yesterday, Bishop Ellena said it was unhealthy for people to treat death as a taboo subject and have a "not in my backyard" attitude.

He gave his full support to the application by Francis Day, who is also seeking permission to establish a 25-seat chapel, a memorial garden and a small ticket kiosk at the site.

Representatives of the 51-member Living in Hope group, which is pushing for the application to be declined, spent much of the day presenting their submissions at Club Waimea.

The group says the application threatens the neighbourhood's character, quiet environment, traffic safety, and ability to produce quality food. These were among the reasons the Tasman District Council rejected a similar application in July.

The new application does not contain plans for a cafe and 80-seat reception area, as the first application did.

Bishop Ellena told the hearing panel that treating death as a taboo subject was destructive for people suffering from terminal illness and facing death.

"There is so much fear around the whole discussion of death, we would rather not have it in our backyard."

He said he had 25 years' experience conducting funerals, including in Timaru, where the crematorium was in a rural area. This was accepted by locals as part of their landscape, with farmers ploughing their fields while a service was being held.

"It all felt so right – life and death side by side."

It was a "fairytale"for people to think that the crematorium would have a detrimental effect on the area, and it would be a gift to the community and should be celebrated, he said.

Mariri-based celebrant Diane Strong told the hearing it was time to "cut through the hysteria" and find the real value of the gardens.

Mrs Strong, who has performed "many" ceremonies in the gardens, said in early September some people who opposed the application subjected people at a funeral service at the gardens to "inflammatory placards and their cars being photographed".

"It is appalling and flies in the face of human decency," Mrs Strong said, adding it would be a "travesty" if the proposal did not go ahead.

The lawyer of the Living in Hope group, Sally Gepp, read a lengthy submission, stating that the applicant's proposed activities would have major effects on neighbours. Submitters from the group gave evidence to support Miss Gepp's submission during the afternoon. This included a 41-page submission from Andrew Greenhough and Jennifer Wheeler, whose vineyard and winery is one of the gardens' nearest neighbours. Mr Greenhough said council staff had failed to address the effects of reverse sensitivity.

"We find this omission to be extraordinary and further evidence that both the applicant and council staff simply ignore any issue which cannot be mitigated and may weaken their case."

The couple's business, Greenhough Vineyard, is in the second year of three towards conversion to organic status. The establishment of a crematorium would affect the ability to grow contaminant-free grapes, Mr Greenhough said.

"The presence of a crematorium immediately next door and discharging emissions onto our vineyards, as indicated by the applicants own emissions report and dispersal models, will be negatively perceived.

"It is the antithesis of what is considered clean and green," he said.

If the council granted the consent, Mr Greenhough said he wanted it to accept full liability for any contamination of soil or crop that might occur as a result of the development.

Paton Rd resident Audrey Little, who has farmed in the area for 39 years, said there were many toxic emissions created by a crematorium.

"Emissions from a crematorium may be predicted to be minor on a daily but they are toxic and in time these build up in the ground and in humans."

The hearing ends today.

- © Fairfax NZ News