NEW cash for cemeteries and crematoria was announced yesterday.
Kirklees Council’s Cabinet will spend an extra £8m on bereavement services.
The investment includes a new cemetery at Fenay Bridge and a £3m crematorium in Dewsbury. Huddersfield Crematorium will be modernised.
Council leader Clr Robert Light believes the investment is badly needed.“Our crematoria are in a very poor state,” he said.
The Conservative blamed this on the previous Lib Dem administration.
Clr Light said: “They wanted to privatise our crematoria but this Conservative administration has rejected that plan as unworkable.
“Unfortunately we had to go through the process which they had set up which has caused a two-year delay in getting the much-needed improvements started.
“It is our intention to start work on the new £3m Dewsbury Crematorium later this year.”
The Cabinet member responsible for bereavement services Clr Martyn Bolt hopes the extra cash will ease the pressure on cemeteries in Kirklees.
He said: “Because of neglect and lack of investment in recent years, there is a well-publicised lack of burial space, especially in South Kirklees, which urgently needs addressing.
“We will deal with this shortage by providing a new cemetery at Fenay Bridge and making improvements at other cemeteries to free up land for burials as it is required.
“We are also increasing maintenance provision throughout the area to ensure our cemeteries and crematoria are well-kept, peaceful environments for those residents who visit.”
