THE company behind a funeral parlour proposal for Wattle Grove says it has been working diligently with the council while residents are now petitioning against it.

The proposal has been put forward by Seasons Funerals and is set to be located on 326 Hale Road – right next to the Wattle Grove and Hale Village shopping centres.

The planning report for the parlour, prepared by Edge Planning and Property, states that the development will be both a mix of single and double storey buildings with no crematorium onsite, but there will be “interim storage of bodies in a refrigerated facility.”

“This includes the collection of bodies from the place of death, transfer of bodies to the facility in a purpose-built vehicle, storage of the body whilst the required death documentation is processed and transfer to an offsite cremation facility of the family’s choosing,” the planning report said.

The parlour is expected to run from 8.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday – with limited services on Saturday – from a 100-seat chapel, with a maximum of two services per day, according to the planning report.

The report said that “significant mature trees” will be kept, with a loading area at the back of premises to ensure that the loading and unloading of bodies cannot be seen by the public.

But Wattle Grove resident Andrew Mullane said that residents within Wattle Grove would prefer that Season’s Funerals put their funeral parlour in the industrial area, not right in the heart of the Wattle Grove community.

“We think it’s well beyond reasonable to expect us to put up with the scale of activities and the scale of the building right in the middle of our community,’’ he said.

Fellow resident Raj Pandian was also concerned about the site’s visibility to school children, and questioned how a funeral parlour could benefit the community.

“We want something which can support the community, help the community, and prosper the community,” he said.

So far, Mr Pandian said his fellow residents have collected more than 700 signatures for their petition, which they plan to present to council as soon as they can.

Season’s Funerals general manager Vanessa Wilson said they found the Hale Road site 12 months ago and have been working diligently with the City of Kalamunda to ensure it meets traffic impact and noise requirements, as well as area suitability alongside the parlour being visually appealing.

“We appreciate the concerns the local community has raised and we understand their emotional response, but we are like any other business,” she said.