Crematorium prices to rise by 10.5%

PRICES at Coychurch Crematorium in Bridgend will rise by 10.5% this financial year, following discussions by members of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee this week.

The crematorium, which was opened in 1970 to cover the requirement for a cremation service within a 15-mile radius of Bridgend and neighbouring boroughs, has had relatively low prices for cremations and ceremonies in recent years.

But under the new plans the cost of cremation in the borough will now be brought in line with other charges across South Wales, with a cost of cremation rising from £745.70 to £824.00 in 2023-24.

The fee for hiring a chapel for a memorial service without a cremation will also go up from £82.10 – a fee that had also been considered one of the lowest in Wales – to £220 during weekdays, and doubling to £440 on weekends.

Councillor Barry Stephens, of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, said he was fully supportive of the plans for the increase, which were approved uninamously by members in attendance at the meeting.

He said: “I think it’s right to go along with the increase. To maintain our standards is paramount, we’ve got a good reputation and it’s good to see it continuing that way. It’s been a difficult time to maintain standards through Covid etc, but I think we’ve done an outstanding job.”

Figures given by the local authority show that there were 1,571 cremations carried out in the facility in 2022, made up of 970 from Bridgend, 402 from Rhondda Cynon Taff and 135 from the Vale of Glamorgan, with 64 non-residents.

The cremation charge was placed at 287 out of 314 cremation authorities in a national fee league table published in summer 2022 by the Cremation Society of Britain.

Work recently began on a

£1.2m upgrade and extension to the building, and is now expected to be complete by this summer.