Legal challenge to King’s Lynn firm’s crematorium plan rejected

A legal challenge to the planning consent given to a new crematorium proposed by a Lynn-based funeral director has been thrown out at the High Court in London.

Dignity Funerals’ bid for a judicial review of the decision was rejected in a ruling published on Friday.

The judge, Mr Justice Holgate, said: “All of the grounds of challenge fail and the application for judicial review must be dismissed.”

He ordered Dignity to pay £34,000 towards Breckland Council’s legal costs, £3,650 less than the council had asked for, and refused to allow an appeal. He said there was no real prospect of a successful appeal.

During a hearing earlier this month, Dignity’s barrister claimed the council had a “duty” to consider their plans for a crematorium near Weeting as a “specific alternative”.

Thornalley took no part in the proceedings but were listed as “an interested party.”

Breckland Council’s lawyers, however, had argued the authority was under no obligation to consider Dignity’s plans.

They said that not only had Dignity had not yet applied for planning permission, but they had also failed to give the council enough information about their proposals so that the authority could form an opinion about it.