KIRKLEES Council looks set to invest nearly £2m to improve cemeteries and crematoria.
The work includes rebuilding and strengthening three cremators in Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
Major components would be replaced, helping extend the life of the cremators by 15 years.
The £1.36m investment would allow Kirklees to meet its obligation under the Environmental Protection Act to reduce mercury emissions by 50% by the end of next year.
The council is also considering spending £80,000 upgrading music and media facilities at both crematoria.
The improvements would allow mourners to choose from an extensive online library of songs.
The upgrade would also mean services could be broadcast on the internet.
Kirklees also plans to spend £120,000 on improving pathways and parking areas at cemeteries in Slaithwaite, Edgerton, Lockwood, Dewsbury and Batley. The investment would also pay for improvements to the sanctum at Liversedge.
The council plans to spend £250,000 to improve Dewsbury Crematorium. The investment would pay for car park improvements and the installation of canopies.
The council’s Labour cabinet will decide whether to approve the funding at its meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall at 3pm on Tuesday.
If the investment goes ahead, the cremators at Huddersfield and Dewsbury will be upgraded by December 2012.
The improvement plan is in addition to the council’s proposal to build a new cemetery for Huddersfield.
Council officers have drawn up the proposal to develop a nine-acre site at Farnley Hey near Castle Hill.
The 7,500-plot burial ground would replace the council-run cemeteries at Almondbury and Lockwood, which will be full within two years.
The new cemetery would cost £900,000.
Public consultation on the planning application for the site ends on Monday.
Residents, councillors and an MP have objected to the proposal. Their concerns include lack of public transport, narrowness of roads and impact on the view from Castle Hill.
