New Maldon crematorium to ease stress for grieving families

The Maldon crematorium is due to open by the end of 2024.

A new crematorium being built on the outskirts of an Essex town has been described as "a Godsend".

Cremations in the Maldon district have been sent to Chelmsford, Braintree or Colchester - the bigger nearby towns and cities - and waiting times can be as much as five weeks.

But the new Maldon facility, due to open in late 2024, could reduce the turnaround to as little as two weeks.

Funeral director John Gillies said it would make "an incredible difference".

Construction work has begun on the crematorium at Maldon Fields near Woodham Mortimer village.

The venue will hold 100 people and is expected to host 950 cremations a year.

Construction has now begun on the site by the side of the A414 near Maldon.

John Gillies, Maldon branch manager at Adam & Greenwood Funeral Homes, said the extra distance to travel for grieving families - such as to Chelmsford - caused additional stress.

"When it's a loved one's funeral, it's a massive thing to make sure everything is correct," he told the BBC.

"For the new people coming into the town, this [new crematorium] is going to be a Godsend."

Funeral director John Gillies says the new Maldon crematorium is "a Godsend"

Maldon celebrant Marya Lord Lancaster says a local crematorium will mean less stress for grieving families.

Maldon celebrant Marya Lord Lancaster said she had to travel as far afield as Southend-on-Sea and Braintree to officiate at cremations.

"People probably even have opted for burials because it's more local for them, but now they have got this option," she told the BBC.

"The location of it is perfect and the surroundings are beautiful too."

The crematorium is being built in a field which contains a stone monument; the Coopers Monument.

Elegy, the company that will run the crematorium, said it would restore the Grade II listed monument as part of its development, as well as plant an avenue of trees in keeping with the original landscaping from 1825, when the monument was erected.