Two new crematoria set to be built on city sites

A SECOND new crematorium for a Yorkshire district will be built if senior councillors give the go-ahead for the multi-million pound scheme next month.

The £10.5m crematorium, which is set to replace the existing facility at Scholemoor in the Bradford district, is planned for Shetcliffe Lane in Bierley.

The announcement comes a month after the Bradford Council’s executive approved the choice of land off Long Lane, Heaton, to build a crematorium as a replacement for Nab Wood’s site.

Negotiations are taking place with the private owners of both sites to agree a price for the land, but officers want to be granted Compulsory Purchase powers if a deal cannot be reached to prevent the project being delayed.

After considering up to 45 locations, officers earmarked Heaton and Bierley as the most practical sites due to their locations away from homes as well as conforming to other restrictions.

The two new crematoria are the biggest projects in a £24m bereavement strategy for the district, which includes the revamp of Oakworth Crematorium to install mercury-filtering technology and an expansion of the Muslim burial ground at Scholemoor.

About 3,000 cremations each year are carried by Bradford Council yet the district’s existing six cremators, three at Scholemoor, two at Nab Wood and one at Oakworth, are almost two decades old and operating seven to eight years beyond the manufacturer’s stated working life, which has led to breakdowns and maintenance costs rising.

The council’s member for healthy people and places, Coun Sarah Ferriby, said: “We need to progress these works due to the age of the existing facilities which are working well beyond their recommended life span and which do not conform to modern environmental standards.

“We want to provide practical, sympathetic, convenient and pleasant surroundings for people when they pay their last respects to their loved ones.”