Controversial horse crematorium approved after appeal

Lambourn in West Berkshire is home to 30 racehorse training stables and several world-famous studs.

Controversial plans to build a horse crematorium close to Lambourn's world-famous stables, have been approved.

Local horse trainers in the area, known as the Valley of the Racehorse, warn the smell of death will spook their million-pound animals.

Applications by J Passey and Son to relocate their operation to the new site have previously been turned down.

But now the Planning Inspectorate has rejected suggestions that incinerator fumes would harm nearby stables.

With over 30 training establishments and several world-famous studs, the Valley in West Berkshire has a higher ratio of horses to people than anywhere in England.

Only horses will be incinerated at the new facility at the former Wessex Saw Mill on Wantage Road.

Other "fallen animal carcasses" will be collected and stored in a covered skip inside the main building before being transferred to other locations for disposal. No animals will be slaughtered at the new facility.

'The horses know'

Henrietta Knight, who trained three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate in the Lambourn valley, said: "The horses do know, they can sense it, they know the smell. They just know when there is death. It's not any kind of smells that people can detect."

And just a mile away from the new location is Trindledown Farm - the National Animal Welfare Trust's (NAWT) 10-acre base dedicated to caring for field animals and domestic pets in their twilight years.

West Berkshire Council had turned down the planning application twice before being overruled by the Planning Inspectorate

The incinerator's owners had submitted a report with their planning application which assessed the impact of its use on air quality in the locality.

Allowing their appeal, the Planning Inspectorate stated: "The report found that fumes from this process would be unlikely to result in complaint from nearby occupiers.

"Whilst noting the concerns raised by nearby occupiers, I note that the council's environmental health officer found that the incinerator would have a low impact on local air quality. In the absence of substantive evidence to demonstrate otherwise, I have no reason to find differently in this regard."

Local residents have also raised concerns that during times of flood, pollution to ground water sources would be likely.

However, the appeal decision found that "proposed works to nearby ditches would be likely to reduce the risk of flooding upon the site and the associated risk of pollution to water sources".

West Berkshire Council said in a statement that it "needs time to consider the findings of the inspector before commenting".

J Passey and Son declined to comment when contacted by BBC Berkshire.