Crematorium use at its limit in pandemic

CREMATORIUM use has been so high during the coronavirus pandemic in Halton that the borough has already reached the total number of cremations that would usually be expected in a year.

A report published ahead of yesterday’s Halton Borough Council environment and urban renewal board meeting said the period had been ‘extremely busy’, so much so that a temporary mobile cremator has been put on standby.

It said existing cremators have been ‘worked to their limits’ and now need to undergo ‘major servicing’.

The grisly details were contained in a report updating councillors on the work undertaken by Halton Council during the so-called ‘lockdown’.

The document said Planet Ice at The Hive leisure park in Widnes had also been returned to its owner after its service as a temporary mortuary to cope with heightened demand due to the pandemic.

It said the ‘body storage facility’ was deconstructed before being passed back to the rink’s operators.

A reprieve for the ‘extremely busy’ cemeteries and crematorium service could manifest soon when the Peel House cemetery opens, having been completed during lockdown.

The report’s authors said: “The cemeteries and crematorium section has been extremely busy throughout the Covid-19 emergency.

“The numbers of cremations carried out to date are almost equal to what would be done in a full year.

“Extra resources were drafted into the section so that additional burial and cremation slots could be offered.

“As numbers within the crematorium chapel had to be reduced to only 12, free webcasting of funerals was granted and large numbers have taken up that option.

“A temporary portable cremator was sourced during the emergency period and it was installed in mid-June.

“The temporary portable cremator has been put into place in order to guarantee that the service can cope with any increase in capacity requirements.”