Crematorium costs up by £2m
ECO-FRIENDLY TECHNOLOGY AND LANDSCAPING ADD TO THE BILL
MORE money is needed to carry out plans to build a huge crematorium in Nottinghamshire.
In 2018, Rushcliffe Borough Council’s cabinet approved the principle of a new crematorium in Stragglethorpe, near Cotgrave.
Once complete, it’s expected the crematorium could deal with 1,000 cremations a year with a rapidly growing population in Rushcliffe expected to increase demand.
£6.5m was included in the council’s capital programme to buy the site opposite the Shepherd’s Stonehouse pub to develop the crematorium.
But following the appointment of design team Ridge and Partners, the estimated cost was greater than the budget previously agreed.
A report has now been put together to outline the reasons why, the impact and the request to approve a further £2 million.
It was due to be discussed at cabinet today with the allocation of the extra £2 million recommended for support.
The report says that there are an additional 13,150 homes in the local plan, which means there will be a demand for the crematorium to “provide a modern, accessible, community facility”.
The project costs have increased for three specific reasons; VAT, an underestimate oflandscaping costs and the price of a more eco-friendly electric cremator.
On the VAT position, external advice has been sought by the council.
The council said that, while savings had been made through working with Ridge, it was also made apparent the cost of the landscaping “had been substantially underestimated”. “The pre-tender estimate remains in excess of the original allocation,” the council said.
“Further options will continue to be explored to achieve additional savings on the landscaping scheme where possible.”
In keeping with plans to install a more carbon-friendly means of cremation, the council is looking at installing an electric cremator.
Electric devices release around 90 percent less carbon than a conventional gas cremator and around half the emissions of polluting nitrogen oxides.
While more efficient and cheaper to run in the long term, there is a greater up front cost to install this kind of cremator.
The council report said: “Based on a project cost of £8.5m (including land), it is expected that the crematorium will provide the council with an estimated revenue cash return of £68m over the next 40 years with the in-house operating model.”