A NEW roof to accommodate solar panels to fire the furnaces at the Gwent Crematorium has been approved.
Newport Council, which manages and is responsible for the building that is owned by Torfaen Borough Council, announced plans in October 2023 to save on energy costs by installing solar panels.
However it has required a new roof as the solar panels would be “too heavy” for the existing roof, according to Torfaen Borough Council’s planning department.
It has granted planning permission to change the roof tiles of the main chapel from rosemary tiles to alumasc light weight metal Airtile, along with new roof trusses and beams.
Planning officer Justin Jones said in a report the chapel is an “imposing” building and removal of the existing tiles, and their replacement will “fundamentally alter the appearance from the thicker rustic tiles to a smoother ‘plastic’ looking imprinted tiled sheet”.
But Mr Jones said the new material would “cause only minor harm to the character of the area” and be seen in the context of the solar panels, that will be added later under permitted development rights, which will have “a greater impact upon the visual character”.
However he said the chapel isn’t listed and isn’t within a conservation area and “therefore, it is considered that there is a degree of flexibility to what can be developed on the building” and changing the tiles is considered “acceptable”.
Mr Jones acknowledged the change will “cause some visual harm” but said this has to be balanced against the benefits from the solar panels which will be used to fire the furnaces and provide a “secure source of energy rather than the volatility of purchasing from the open market”.
When the plans were announced in October 2023 it was said solar panels could provide the crematorium with around 15 per cent of its current electricity demand – enough to save around £970 a year on its energy bills.
That was based on a planned agreement with Egni Cooperative, a community energy group which would have installed the panels and retained ownership of the equipment. The application for works to the roof was made by property services firm Newport Norse, a joint venture between Newport City Council and Norse Commercial Services part of the Norse Group owned by Norfolk County Council.
