Extended wait for slot at city crematorium

GRIEVING families are having to wait two weeks before they can hold funerals for l oved ones at Dundee Crematorium.

Operators Dignity plc said the delays were due in part to the refurbishment of Perth Crematorium.

The wait from date of death to cremation is normally just 10 days. However, there are no slots available between now and January 30.

Perth Crematorium i s undergoing a £2.2 million refurbishment. Work began in June and is expected to be completed this year.

The chapel at the site has been closed for services, although cremations have continued.

A spokesman for Dignity plc said: “The refurbishment work at Perth Crematorium has seen an i ncrease i n demand for services at our facility but there also appears to be an increase in the national death rate.

“The current number of requests for funerals means we are operating at full capacity and the next available service i s on Tuesday January 30.”

He added: “We are continuing to provide services from 8.15am every weekday and throughout Saturday morning.”

There are plans to create a second crematorium in Dundee.

Dundee FC has included a new one in its proposals for a new stadium by Camperdown Park.

The club has said the 15,000-capacity stadium will only go ahead if permission is granted for the crematorium and other ancillary developments, including a hotel and a nursery.

Under the proposals, the stadium would be used as a venue for funeral teas, just as St J o h n s t o n e ’s McDiarmid Park is in Perth.

The club has stressed the new crematorium would not operate on match days.