Crematorium to close for nine months for major work

Worcester Crematorium is set to close for nine months after plans for a major refurbishment were approved.

The scheme will see three gas-powered cremators replaced with electric models, with the aim of making the site the "greenest crematorium" in the West Midlands.

Work is scheduled to start in August and is due to last for nine months, with the crematorium building closed but cemetery grounds remaining open throughout the duration.

Arrangements were being made to allow funeral services to continue to be held in Worcester while the refurbishment was carried out, Worcester City Council said.

Council leader Lynn Denham said the aim of the refurbishment was to make it an "even better place" to hold memories and honour the lives of loved ones.

"At the centre of the refurbishment will be the first electric cremators in the West Midlands," she explained.

"In fact, after Lambeth in London we will be only the second local authority-owned crematorium in the whole of the UK to make the move from gas to electricity."

Planning permission for the scheme was granted by the local authority on Friday.

Under the plans, the chapel would be refurbished with new furniture, fittings and equipment.

The council said the scheme also included a new heat recovery system and roof with solar panels, as well as electric charging points for vehicles and a chapel garden.

"Taken together, all these improvements mean that when it reopens next year, Worcester will have the greenest crematorium in the West Midlands," Denham added.

The project will also receive a £1.4m grant through the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which supports energy-efficient projects.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.