Plans for new facilities at Harbour View crematorium

Tapper Funeral Service has submitted an application to expand the offering at its Harbour View site near Lytchett Minster.

The company has acquired the neighbouring land at Trokes Coppice and Cottage and wants to demolish the existing buildings as part of its proposed development.

If approved, a new columbarium, chapels of rest and a reflecting pool would be built along with offices and a showroom.

The application site is surrounded by Harbour View’s grounds on all sides other than the road itself – Randalls Hill.

Steven Tapper, director of the firm, told the Daily Echo the existing buildings on the applications site are “old and in a poor condition”.

“Importantly, they would struggle to achieve modern standards for insulation and use of power and the ecological value of the site is presently very poor,” Mr Tapper said.

Steven Tapper

“We would like to replace these with new buildings designed to modern, sustainable standards and to complement our work at Harbour View helping local bereaved families.

“We hope to improve the conditions for both our client families and for our hard-working team with modern air-conditioned meeting rooms and high-quality private chapels of rest.

“We also hope to add a columbarium to the list of options that our client families can consider for the place of rest for their loved-one’s cremated remains.”

Architect Sean Daly, who worked on the Harbour View’s Long Barrow Crematorium, completed the designs for the proposed columbarium delivering continuity to the project.

Aerial image showing proposed site plan in context of the Long Barrow Crematorium (Image: DMW Architects)

A statement submitted by Mr Tapper as part of the application said it has become challenging to sustain existing arrangements of having visitors for administration appointments between 8am and 10am before mourners start to arrive for funeral services.

He told the Daily Echo: “If granted consent, the new buildings will be almost unseen from public ground, other than when at a very long distance, and a considerable increase to biodiversity will be gained.

“We are very excited about this application as we feel it is a chance to take the facilities and options for clients at Harbour View to a higher level.”

The plans have been submitted to Dorset Council and ward councillor Andrew Starr has already stated he has no objection subject to the biodiversity plan being followed.