Huntingdon’s pioneering crematorium and cemetery has moved a step closer after its entrance gates and fencing were granted planning permission.

Work is already under way on the £7m Huntingdon Town Council scheme which is building the crematorium at Sapley Road, Kings Ripton.

The scheme includes a range of green technologies, including the first all-electric carbon neutral cremator, the recycling of waste heat into the depot, rainwater harvesting, solar panels and composting of plant materials.

Huntingdonshire District Council has now given the go-ahead to a planning application for the entrance gate to the site and estate fencing.

Plans for the gate were originally described as “too industrial” by Kings Ripton Parish Council which, in recommending approval, also raised concerns about the potential for accidents with cars turning into the site.

The parish was also worried about overhead power cables above the entrance and a footpath link.

The entrance gate, which will also act as a height restriction barrier, will have decorative wrought iron infill, buff bricks and limestone detail, with LED uplighters at the base of each column.

District planners said the design of the gates had been revised and improved while the plans went through the system.

They said: “The proposed entrance gates and fencing details, by virtue of their design and the proposed materials, are considered to be acceptable in this location and to announce the crematorium from the site access on Sapley Road.

“The design has been improved since the original submission an is now considered for this use and location.”

Planners added: “The height barrier gates also create a safe and secure access for the site which can be moved when necessary to allow for deliveries and larger vehicles to access the site.”

The town council, which is building the crematorium and cemetery to meet a shortfall of burial space, has a separate planning application in for an entrance sign.

The scheme includes more than 2,000 burial plots, a garden of remembrance and a chapel capable of holding 120 people. The crematorium, the first to be built locally, means people will no longer have to travel to Cambridge and Bedford.