Plan to open crematorium near aged care centre

Elderly residents say plans to open a crematorium on the back doorstep of an aged care facility are in poor taste and are concerned about emissions.

Palm Lake Resort resident Patrick Casey said siting a crematorium next to an aged care facility was in poor taste.

PLANS to build a crematorium on land near one of southeast Queensland’s largest residential aged care facilities fired up an angry crowd on the weekend.

Residents of Palm Lake Lifestyle Resort Bethania and Waterford, gathered on Saturday to protest plans by the James Family Funeral Trust for a state-of-the-art crematorium on nearby High Rd, Bethania.

Floor plans for the crematorium, which will back on to an aged care facility at Bethania.

A manager will live upstairs at the facility which will run Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm.

The burning issue sparked heated debate with 300 residents worried about emissions from the facility and lack of community consultation.

The James Family Trust was in the final stages of purchasing the site from the Nugent family.

The protest meeting heard plans included a two-storey building with crematorium, coffin display room, trim room, mortuary and fridge downstairs with a two-bedroom caretaker apartment upstairs.

Bethania Residents Action Group president Diana Howes said locals felt disenfranchised as they were not consulted and urged the operators to find a better location.

“This application does not need to consult the community because under the planning rules, no impact assessment is needed for this type of development in this area,” Ms Howes said.

“This is unfair as this is a residential area and not industrial and people are worried about emissions especially as many in the nearby aged care facility suffer from respiratory problems.

“Our discussions with a town planner from Logan City Council indicate the application is

compliant and therefore, at this stage, council looks set to give it the green light.”

The application asks for permission to run the crematorium five days a week between 8am and 5pm.

Residents have called on acting Logan mayor Cherie Dalley to refuse the application.

Cr Dalley was unavailable for comment on the weekend.

Palm Lake Bethania resident Berwin Smith, whose wife is in care at Palm Lake Care Bethania, said residents were concerned there had been no information about the application.

Senior town planner with East Coast Surveyors Ken Burmeister, acting on behalf of the James Family Funeral Trust, said a similar cremator was operating in Rockhampton and the proposed Bethania cremator complied with Logan council emission regulations.

“This is a code assessable application, so if it complies with council regulations, council has no alternative but to issue approval,” he said.

“According to the council’s planning scheme, this is where it wants to locate facilities such as crematoriums.”