Yeovil Crematorium upgrade delayed to save council money

The crematorium was completed in 1970 and currently handles around 1,700 cremations every year

A crematorium will not be made environmentally friendly as the council is struggling financially.

Somerset Council had planned to upgrade Yeovil Crematorium to make it more environmentally friendly and provide more room for mourners.

But any further upgrades to the building are now on hold indefinitely to help Somerset Council save money.

Originally, the council planned to spend £4.921m on the upgrade.

The crematorium was completed in 1970 and currently handles around 1,700 cremations every year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The original decision to refurbish the facility was taken back in June 2017, with the council intending to construct a new chapel, waiting room, a smaller secondary chapel and improved parking facilities, as well as replacing the existing cremators.

By March 2020, one of the two replacement cremators had been installed.

'Operational pressures'

However, the installer went into liquidation, and the new cremator installed had "mercury abatement issues", which had to be addressed to prevent environmental hazards.

The contract for the main construction element was not ultimately taken forward due to "operational pressures" during the first coronavirus lockdown.

In light of these issues, the district council voted in February 2022 to provide an additional £800,000 towards upgrading the facility.

A further £185,400 was agreed in August 2022 to reflect high inflation within the construction industry.

The majority of the upgrades were pushed back by a year in early-2023, with the new unitary authority delaying other capital projects to reduce its in-year borrowing and deliver a balanced budget for its first year.

The council has now confirmed the crematorium upgrade had been removed from the capital programme for the coming year, removing £3,957,000 of external borrowing.

A spokesman said: "The upgrade was a project that has been on a capital programme of the previous council (South Somerset District Council) for a number of years without progressing.

"Any assumptions on the refurbishment costs will therefore be out of date."