Last week’s welcome news of the breakthrough in securing planning permission for a purpose-built Hindu crematorium in Denham, on the border of North West London, has been greeted with widespread approval. It is the culmination of a long and sometimes frustrating journey – absorbing considerable effort by the applicant Anoopam Mission UK – and involving many stakeholders from across the community. It represents a landmark moment that deserves to be applauded and also carefully reviewed to learn the right lessons - both retrospective and forward-looking.
The fundamental need for bespoke crematoria facilities to meet the cultural and social requirements of the Hindu, and wider Indian community, has been evident for many decades. It is a topic which I first heard being raised during a conversation between Late Manubhai M. Madhvani, the widely respected industrialist and philanthropist from Uganda, and a group of prominent spiritual leaders almost 30 years ago. To his credit, Manubhai challenged these revered individuals to meet the practical needs of the community.
In the early stages of migration from East Africa and India, the initial priorities for diaspora groups were understandably focused on building landmark projects such as temples, gurdwaras and community centres. Indeed, we shouldn’t forget the struggles which many of these projects faced, such as the epic 10-year battle to save Bhaktivedanta Manor, the ISKCON temple in Watford, from being closed to the public by Hertsmere Council. This dispute was eventually resolved by building an independent access road by-passing the local village of Letchmore Heath.
Today, these and other temples have multiplied and thrived, providing a wide network across the country. So it is right that the focus now shifts to other facilities appropriate to an increasingly ageing population. My own interest in this topic deepened in 2015 when I was asked by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne, for suggestions of how to help the Hindu and Indian community as part of his budget. To his credit, Osborne followed through on addressing the inadequate provision of crematoria facilities by initiating a formal review and public consultation. This initiative was welcomed by a wide spectrum of community leaders at the time. My opinion column in Asian Voice from July 2015, published to coincide with the announcement of this review, expressed the following hopes and concerns about the situation - quoting directly:
“a unique opportunity to finally move this vexed issue from the arena of debate to a series of concrete recommendations and deliverables”;
“a complex subject which spans many different stakeholders, users and providers and could easily be kicked back into the long grass of local government bureaucracy and planning laws”;
“identify some ‘inaugural’ projects which could be accelerated and deliver quick tangible results, providing templates which can be replicated and improved upon elsewhere”; and
“need to be forensic and assertive in understanding why this issue has not been addressed thus far despite the overwhelming demand in areas of high Hindu, Sikh and Jain concentration”.
In the meantime, word of the crematoria review reached the spiritual leader of the Anoopam Mission, Param Pujya Sahebji, and he felt that his own organisation should investigate developing such a project, taking advantage of its large 15-acre site in Buckinghamshire. Anoopam Mission also undertook careful research about whether a crematoria could be built adjacent to a temple complex under Vedic traditions, whilst also investigating the feasibility of doing so on green belt land. The Trustees assembled a professional team of architects and consultants to work on suitable plans – named the AUM Crematorium - and were encouraged by positive engagement from planning officers at Buckinghamshire Council. Eventually, a scheme was developed which was recommended by the officials and taken to the South Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee in September 2020. Having actively participated in these deliberations, it was hugely disappointing to see the elected Councillors reject the advice of their own professionals. My concerns, five years earlier, about “local government bureaucracy and planning laws” had sadly proved to be accurate.
At this stage, many would have given up but the Trustees of Anoopam Mission UK, led by Satish Chatwani, persevered and lodged an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, appointing a top barrister in this field, Peter Goatley QC, to represent the case. My Parliamentary colleagues Bob Blackman MP and Joy Morrisey MP joined for a briefing in Denham in May 2021 in advance of the planning inquiry, beginning in July 2021. At the start of the public inquiry, both Bob Blackman and I made representations on behalf of the Hindu community.
The final decision from the Planning Inspector, published last week, represents a genuine breakthrough on multiple fronts:
Firstly, it secures permission for a project serving a wide catchment area of North West London and the surrounding counties accessible to a substantial concentration of the UK’s Hindu population;
Secondly, the Planning Inspector recognised the very special circumstances that exist in meeting the unfulfilled needs of the Hindu community and this precedent will hopefully enable other facilities to be considered in areas of high Hindu, Sikh and Jain populations. The review commissioned by the Government in 2015 formed an important part of the evidence base supporting this assessment and demonstrates why responding to public consultations is such an important civic duty; and
Thirdly, the Planning Inspector noted that the Public Sector Equality Duty (under the Equality Act 2010) was not being met and should be accorded significant weight. It, therefore, highlights the completely erroneous position of the two London boroughs with the highest Indian populations – Brent and Harrow – neglecting the provision of any crematoria facilities in their own areas but relying instead on facilities in neighbouring boroughs. Frankly, neither authority has been adequately held to account on this matter by our community over a long period.
Looking forward, this project also provides an opportunity to bring different Hindu community organisations together to make this landmark permission a shared endeavour. The Covid pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for adequate social infrastructure for an ageing and multicultural society. We owe everyone dignity in death and their grieving families and friends an appropriate setting to bid farewell consistent with their own faith and beliefs. A purpose-built crematorium for Hindus will be an important facet of meeting this basic but profound human requirement.
