Construction has begun on a new ‘state-of-art’ crematorium in Doncaster following the approval of planning permission earlier this year.
The Doncaster Memorial Park and Crematorium site, located off Armthorpe Lane in Barnby Dun, will feature an electric cremator powered by renewable energy as well as landscaped memorial gardens.
Doncaster councillors on the planning committee were faced with three applications for three separate crematoriums in a meeting back in December 2020.
Officers advising officers recommended the Barnby Dun application be approved and two other proposals at Conisbrough and Brodsworth were to be rejected.
Planning officers said that both the Conisbrough and Brodsworth applications were situated on the Green Belt and do not meet the ‘exceptional circumstances’ to warrant approval.
DMBC bosses said that Rose Hill Crematorium has ‘insufficient capacity’.
Documents show that between the years of 2016-2019 the existing Rose Hill Crematorium, in Doncaster operated at 155 per cent of practical capacity in peak months.
Bosses say a crematorium operating above 80 per cent makes it ‘difficult to offer a cremation service that meets an acceptable quantitative standard’, which in turn ‘adversely affects a crematorium’s ability to offer a quality service’ to bereaved families.
They add that annual deaths in Doncaster are projected to increase by 23 per cent between 2020 and 2043.
The Barnby Dun site will include a chapel seating 100 people and one-hour service times as standard.
Inside the chapel, mourners will be able to take advantage of a ‘cutting edge’ media system with live streaming and television screens for photo dedications, visual tributes and pre-recorded eulogies.
Outside, a specially designed memorial garden and circular pool aims to provide a focal feature along with other informal gardens surrounding the main building.
Bosses behind the plans at Memoria Ltd, said the electric cremator will produce 95 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions compared to a gas unit.
The build is anticipated to take around nine months, with the facility aiming to be open by the summer of 2022.
Director Jamieson Hodgson said: “He said: “We are really looking forward to commencing the build on our site in Doncaster and helping to relieve some of the pressures on existing services in the area.
“Our aim is to cut waiting times for bereaved families and shorten journey times for mourners.
“By investing in modern buildings with beautiful surroundings we hope to reflect the dignity and compassion that is always at the heart of what we do.”
Source: https://www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/people/new-doncaster-crematorium-will-ease-pressure-on-current-funeral-services-3358599
