A planned new Derbyshire pet crematorium could be set up with an aim to rekindle good favour after a notorious fraud was jailed for a fake operation. Heaven’s Gate Pet Crematorium hopes to launch at Ridgeway Farm, near Ambergate, in connection with its town centre “pet chapel of rest” in Red Lion Square, Heanor.
In its plans, filed to Amber Valley Borough Council, the firm says there has been a “negative experience with pet cremations” in the area. The council will make a decision on the application in the next few months.
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A statement from the firm says: “15 years ago, approximately, an unscrupulous individual claimed to be a pet cremator, but in reality was disposing of animal bodies on private and public land.
“She was later arrested and sent to prison for this deceit and corrupt practice.
“We want to change the perception in the area, and will make all our practices fully recorded and transparent.”
This references the case of Emma Bent, previously of Heage, who ran Peak Pet Cremations from the village.
In 2011, Bent was jailed for eight months after it was found she had been dumping the bodies of dead animals in a field, instead of cremating them in line with her customer’s wishes.
Three dogs, two cats and a guinea pig were dumped in a field in August 2009 and some of the pets had been microchipped, which helped RSPCA inspectors identify the remains.
A court heard to cover up her story Bent even sent the owners remains from a bonfire which she claimed were their pets’ ashes.
Police calculated she had earned £88,000 through her fraudulent operation but Bent claimed she only had £3,100, which she was ordered to pay to the court.
However, Bent was then jailed for a further two-and-half-years in February 2016 after it was found that land she owned had not been declared.
In September 2017, Bent was told to pay a further £75,806.41 or face a further three-month jail term.
In its application, Heaven’s Gate Pet Cremation Services says: “We are a small family-run company that wants to provide the best service for our pets.
“As pet owners ourselves, we understand the emotions of owning a pet.
“We want to offer our customers a high quality service that provides the dignity and respect to pets on their final journey, that which we believe they deserve.”
It details in its application: “As a small business we are establishing ourselves as a dignified pet cremation service.
“We offer something that we believe hasn’t been done before. Our Pet Chapel of Rest is based on the high street, meaning it is accessible to most people.
“Within the Pet Chapel of Rest we can offer a service that is tailored to each of our customers and also provide them with a quiet and private space for them to say a final farewell to their beloved companions if they chose to do so.
“We are offering a collection of the deceased pet from the customers home, or vet if they so wish.
“We can collect the pet from the local area, and depending on the choice of the customer, bring to the Pet Chapel of Rest for a private goodbye.
“Some customers do not want this and if this is not the case, we will either take the pet directly to the cremation centre if the invoice is paid straight away, or if there is a delay in receiving payment, we have a cold storage room that we can securely store the pet, individually with dignity, until we can perform the cremation.”
It says the cremator it has installed at Ridgeway Farm off Church Lane, near Ambergate, does not emit any smoke or odour.
The firm says the crematorium will create three new jobs and that three further jobs would be created within a year.
It says it has a backup generator if the facility were to lose power and has partnered with High Peak Pet Funeral Services in Bakewell to cremate pets if the facility were to break down.
Three objections have been submitted by residents living close to the site, who say they have already smelled foul odours coming from the facility.
They say this has been the odour of “meat” and compared it to the smell of “burning dead animals” previously experienced in the foot and mouth epidemic, in which many cattle were burned.
