RESIDENTS have been voicing their opinions after the dedication of a controversial new crematorium to service Newport and Monmouthshire.

Langstone Crematorium was officially dedicated yesterday in a ceremony led by the former Bishop of Monmouth the Right Reverend Dominic Walker.

The hope is that the site will ease the pressure on Gwent crematorium, which was the only available option to people in Newport and Monmouthshire until the Langstone facility opened in November last year.

But the plans to build Langstone Crematorium on the notorious 'rat-run' of Magor Road, used by motorists looking to bypass the busy M4, drew criticism from locals in the run up to its construction, with concerns also raised about emissions.

Posting after the dedication ceremony, and ten months since the site was first opened, local residents were shared mixed views about the new site on the community Facebook page Langstone Ward Matters,

Giles Phillips posted: "It's not an eyesore, and there appears to be a need for it as a (albeit slightly depressing) community service.

"I'm not that worried about the pollution, given it's right next to the M4, and I'm not sure anything it emits is likely to be noticed, The prevailing weather is from the southwest, so any emissions are mostly driven out over arable land."

Coralie Jayne Burchell-Whittle said that she was impressed with the facilities at the new crematorium, having attended the cremation of a family member there.

She said: "My grandfather's funeral was held here and it made such a change from the Cwmbran crematorium.

"It is bright and airy with private spaces for the family to wait.

"There are big windows to the side of the main hall and it felt like it was letting nature in rather than the rather austere, dingy, oppressive places that crematoriums can be."

Speaking about traffic concerns, Leighton Dobbs warned that the new site's location could cause problems if the amount of people using it grew to match the old crematorium in Cwmbran.

He said: "I know there is traffic often trailing back up to the Underwood turning on a Friday, but Funerals are only Hourly at the moment and not all day long.

"It's going to be awful when it reaches every half an hour like Cwmbran, with traffic congestion and a conveyor belt of hearses, black cars, mourning families. I hope it won't happen."

Mr Dobbs added: "They're not going to change it now. They bulldozed their way through and built it, irrelevant of some of our concerns and opinions.

"Again though it would be better on an A-road as opposed to a country Lane. Wait until it's half hourly then watch the traffic build up."

Paul Anderton posted: "I'm a realist, we've got it now and we move on, but it doesn't change the fact that many local residents, our two city councillors and our community council objected to it."