Decision details
Haycombe Crematorium, approval of capital
Decision Maker: Director of Place Management
Decision status: Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: No
Purpose:
The Crematorium building at Haycombe needs
some expansion to allow us to continue to manage the numbers of
deceased efficiently and reverently at peak times, to ensure
business continuity. It has become standard good working practice
for modern crematoria to provide a sanitary, temperature controlled
reverent space to hold deceased in coffins, following the funeral
service, whilst awaiting cremation, which is part of the plan to
improve Haycombe.
Temporary resting facilities were created outside the Top Chapel in
2020, in response to the Covid pandemic. Permanent additional
cold-room space on the lower floor of the crematorium building is
required to build resilience and enable a more effective service to
be offered to our communities. The new cold-room will allow staff
to triage more effectively the cremation throughput at times of
higher demand and also will give contingency should we ever find
ourselves in a pandemic situation again.
This will enable more local people in B&NES to hold cremations
at Haycombe, (instead of ones in other areas), which also means
bereaved families and many mourners will have shorter distances to
travel in cars. Cremations can be held sooner after the bereavement
which some families will welcome. It will also enable memorials to
be placed in the grounds at Haycombe as the cremation location,
clearly a much more local and closer place for bereaved families to
visit. We will also be able to facilitate more "simple" funerals
with direct cremations which are becoming more popular.
Manifesto commitments are: addressing climate change, delivers for
local residents, focus on prevention, give people a bigger
say
Decision:
To fully approve £35k capital, currently
allocated with provisional approval to Parks & Bereavement
Infrastructure in the 2020/21 capital programme, for project
delivery and spend in early 2021/22. This is funded by corporate
borrowing.
Alternative options considered:
Keep the temporary resting place in situ (or bring back on occasion
as needs require), however this is costly (approx. £148k
March 2020 to April 2021) and has a visual impact at the entrance
to Haycombe.
Do nothing and work as we have to date, so no additional benefits
and income opportunities; no service improvement to bereaved
families.
Place a refrigerated unit outside of the crematorium; this would
require a bigger investment, planning permission and would create a
continuing noise and visual impact.
Publication date: 12/04/2021
Date of decision: 12/04/2021