Company bid to allay crematorium worries
Construction now underway at old hospital site
Developers have repeated assurances over traffic and smells after work began on a new crematorium for the Stirling area.
Construction work on a crematorium, on the old Bannockburn hospital site, Falkirk Road, has just started.
Controversial plans for the £6m facility, which attracted a 274-signature petition in opposition, were approved at the start of the year.
But this week crematorium developers the Westerleigh Group reiterated that concerns over traffic and road safety issues and emissions from the operation once it was operational, were being addressed.
The new facility, which was approved by councillors in January, will be finished early next year.
It will include a chapel with seating for up to 98 people with the potential to accommodate an additional 100 people standing.
There will also be a landscaped garden, including Garden of Remembrance and areas for the scattering and interment of cremated remains, as well as a total of 116 parking spaces.
Westerleigh say at the moment cremations are held predominantly at Falkirk and the fees that are charged for nonresidents of Falkirk are among the highest in the UK.
Cremation of an adult (19 years and over) from Monday to Saturday costs £920 at Falkirk or £1084 if there is music (organ accompaniment) for nonresidents of the Falkirk Council area.
This compares with prices of £669 and £759 respectively for residents.
Westerleigh Group managing director Richard Evans said: “For the first time, families in the Stirling area will be able to reach a crematorium in a funeral cortege within 30 minutes, the maximum length of time they will have to travel on what is often a stressful day,
“When operational, there will be no smoke or odours from the crematorium, which will be equipped with the most advanced filtration technology in Europe to reduce emissions.”
There will be an average of four and a maximum of six funeral services per day, most of which would be expected outside the rush hour between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
The proposed operating hours would include 9.30am to 1pm on Saturdays.
The scheme includes a new access junction from the A9 Falkirk Road, including a right turn lane.
The developers say this will provide the space to accommodate corteges without disrupting the flow of traffic on the A9, and when the building has gone up, strategic planting of shrubs and trees will take place and general landscape improvements will be provided.
Westerleigh operates 29 crematoria, and a small number of cemeteries, across England, Scotland and Wales, catering for almost 40,000 funerals a year.