Delay in crematorium redevelopment 'hugely disappointing'

Stephen Larkin is the past president of the Association of Funeral Directors and a current funeral director

The delay in redeveloping the crematorium in Belfast is "hugely disappointing", the past president of the Association of Funeral Directors and funeral director has said.

Belfast City Council revealed its plan for a new £18m crematorium at Roselawn in 2021.

Stephen Larkin told BBC News NI bereaved families are limited to services of a maximum of 20 minute slots which "is very rushed for families".

The council said elected members are "considering options in relation to the new crematorium at Roselawn Cemetery".

"It means they are not able to say a proper farewell to their loved ones and they don't have the time to share memories or sum up somebody's life. How can you sum up somebody, say who's lived for 90 years in 20 minutes?," Mr Larkin added.

The plan was for a new crematorium building at Roselawn Cemetery to open in 2024

The crematorium opened in 1961 and was expected to handle 700 cremations a year, but demand has grown in the UK and there is limited availability in Northern Ireland.

The plan was for a new building to open in 2024.

The chair of the All Party Group on Funerals and Bereavement Doug Beattie said the delay is causing "great damage" to bereaved people.

"Belfast and Northern Ireland deserves a crematorium that is fit for the future and we can be proud of yet the council is continually kicking it into the long grass," he said.

The crematorium opened in 1961 and was originally expected to handle 700 cremations a year

The proposal for the crematorium included two ceremony rooms, each seating up to 200 people.

The plans are to furbish the building in buff and cream brick, timber and polished concrete.

The two new ceremony rooms would each overlook a landscaped courtyard.

Each room would have its own waiting area and toilet facilities.

Beattie said planning permission for the development, which would include another service chapel, was granted in 2023 yet further feasibility studies have been ordered.

He said the All Party Group can see no justification for more feasibility studies.

Doug Beattie, who's chair of the All Party Group on Funerals and Bereavement, says the delay is a "disgrace"

He said: "It's been nearly 10 years since we first heard that the crematorium was going to be redeveloped, and two years since planning permission was granted, yet we are no further forward.

"We need to know what the justification for this latest study is and more importantly when a final decision is going to be made on this project.

"It's a disgrace that this is taking so long and the amount of taxpayers' money being spent on all these studies and discussions needs to be made clear.

"The human side of this is that it is causing great damage to bereaved people, who are seeing the time between death and funeral grow because of increasing demand for cremation, and have to suffer shorter services to say goodbye to their loved ones."

'Media opportunity'

Belfast City Councillor Michael Long said the "current facilities are past their prime" and "they need to be replaced".

However, he said that Beattie was "more interested in some kind of media opportunity", as Mr Long said he didn't wait for a reply from the council before putting a press release out.

"I think it would be reckless of councillors just to go ahead on the basis of: 'Oh, well, it was agreed six years ago, let's just do it now.'

"I think we need to take a much more sensible and evidence based way forward," added Long.

He explained that there was a couple of issues that led to delays including Covid-19, changes to the way people want to have services, a new crematorium opening in Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and price rises.

He said the council is "hoping to move forward in terms of the actual plans in the next couple of months".

"The aim is to get something that is going to be appropriate for people in Belfast and which is actually going to be a facility that is going to really serve the local people," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"Value for money for ratepayers is absolutely vital at this stage."

'Not fit for purpose'

Emma Moore, the Northern Ireland President of the National Association of Funeral Directors, said the current set up was "not fit for purpose to serve families the way they should be".

She said: "The facilities aren't as modern as they should be with no capability to do photo slide shows, there's no streaming facility which in this day and age is really poor.

"The experience that bereaved families and mourners are getting is way below the standard we should be able to provide for the community."

'Considering options'

Belfast City Council told BBC News NI that: "Elected members are considering options in relation to the new crematorium at Roselawn Cemetery.

"A report will be brought before committee in due course."

Sinn Féin Councillor Ronan McLaughlin said a crematorium in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, which opened in 2023, cost around £6m.

He said to create a "like for like replacement" in Roselawn would cost £18m.

If a second chapel is built, the figure would stretch to over £22m.

"We are literally talking about tens of millions of pounds of Belfast rate payers money being spent.

"We are committed to building a new crematorium, however, the cost needs to be right and we need to do our duty to the rate payers," he told BBC News NI.

"We need to look at the unique circumstances of Ireland in this, because we have wakes, we have church services before, so what happens in England and Scotland and Wales certainly isn't a replica for the system that we have here," he said.