Multi-million cremation replacement plans lodged

Multi-million plans for three new cremators at Tameside's crematorium have been lodged with the town hall.

Tameside council is seeking listed building consent to upgrade the cremation equipment at the Grade Two listed chapel off Hall Green Road in Dukinfield.

The work is set to cost the authority around £2.5m, an increase of more than £1m than was originally budgeted.

A council report revealed that the cremators – which are more than 20 years old – are at the end of their life expectancy, susceptible to ‘mechanical breakdown’ and maintenance costs are increasing ‘all the time’.

The cremators at Dukinfield Crematorium were last replaced in 1998, and had a 15 year life, so bosses say the upgrade is ‘well overdue’.

The contract for the work has been awarded to Hyde company Matthews Environmental Services, which installed the equipment that is currently in place.

Documents submitted to the planning department state: “The equipment is no longer compliant with existing emission regulations and due to it coming to the end of its service life the system is requiring regular repair work to allow the equipment to be operated in a safe manner.

“The site use with respect to the local public will not change or be influenced by the works as the equipment to be removed and installed will be in the committal room.”

The report states that the committal room is not generally accessed by the public, but around three per cent of services are witnessed cremations and it is expected that the refurbishment of the area will provide a ‘nicer environment’.

The plans would see the replacement of control room equipment and partition walls, as well as three new cremators and the installation of a new mezzanine floor and stairs.

A ‘heat recovery’ system would also be fitted which would be used to capture the energy from the excess heat in order to heat the crematorium.

Dukinfield is the third busiest crematorium in Greater Manchester and currently bereavement services bring in income of around £1.2m for the town hall.

But charges could rise for families in the future as bosses have been discussing proposals to introduce an ‘environmental levy’ on each cremation, which would create a financial reserve used to maintain the cremators.

They estimate this would be around £100k a year which, based on their usual annual figure of more than 2,000 cremations annually, would increase charges for grieving families by an extra £50.

A public consultation on the planning application runs until March 26, and the target date for a decision is April 1.

Main image:

Dukinfield Crematorium, which is due to have three of its cremators replaced.