Private sector partnership for crematorium?

WARRINGTON Borough Council may go into partnership with a private sector company to bring the ageing Walton Lea Crematorium up to date.
The partnership would enable the council to continue to provide a cremation service meeting new, revised environmental requirements – but is likely to increase the cost of a cremation by £100.
The three existing cremators at Walton Lea are nearing the end of their operation lives and the Government has decided 50 per cent of all cremations must comply with new, strict emission regulations by the end of 2012.
All cremations must meet the new requirements by 2015.
Cost of upgrading Walton Lea is put at more than £1 million.
However, entering into a partnership with a market leader within the bereavement industry could result in the cost being met by the private sector..
Town Hall chiefs say other improvements are also necessary at Walton Lea and it would make sense for all the work to be carried out at the same time.
It would be carried out over a weekend to minimise disruption to the service.
Currently, Walton Lea deals with about 2,000 cremations a year. But because the three cremators are all standard size, funerals involving larger coffins have to be transferred to a crematorium in Greater Manchester.
It would be intended to install one larger cremator at Walton Lea, with two standard size facilities and this would result in a larger number of cremations at Warrington.
Officers say Warrington would be the first authority in the area to meet the new environmental standards and as such there would be an opportunity to approach neighbouring authorities with a view to operating a shared service.
Only a small number of private companies in the UK are able to meet the requirements of the new legislation, but there are a considerable number of firms with the necessary expertise in Europe.
Members of the council’s executive board are being asked to agree to officers starting a tender process to find a private partner to fund the project.