Chelmsford City Council defends plan to build new crematorium

Chelmsford City Council has estimated its plan for a new crematorium could cost up to £11m

A council has defended its plan to spend millions on developing a new crematorium.

Chelmsford City Council said it feared the current site in the city would be full in two years.

Almost £11m could be spent on building the new facility at a location that has been identified but not publicly named.

The local authority hoped additional income would be generated by an increased number of cremations and burials held at the new site.

It aimed to expand the amount of cremations from 2,200 to 2,400 per year by 2028. Burials would rise from 41 to 50 annually, the Local Democracy Reporting Service wrote.

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The council believed the new site, which it would not name while negotiations with landowners were ongoing, would cost £4m, with development and building works budgeted at £6.8m.

The plan would only proceed if there was a "sound business case", says the Liberal Democrat councillor Rose Moore

The figures were questioned at a city council cabinet meeting on 30 January.

Rose Moore, a Liberal Democrat councillor, said the plan would only proceed if there was a "sound business case".

"More importantly, why would we wish to take away an important local service, both for residents and their families - especially as it operates at no net cost to taxpayers?," she said.

Ms Moore added there would be a "reasonable payback" on any investment made.