Council officials say the scope of the designs and cost of construction have increased. Once open the £8.3m facility will include a waiting area, family viewing area, chapel, crematorium space and office, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Chingford Mount Cemetery, Credit: Google Streetview
Waltham Forest Council will need to borrow an extra £2.5million to build a new crematorium, with councillors citing increasing costs.
Funding for a “contemporary, purpose-built” crematorium in Chingford Mount Cemetery was first approved by councillors in 2023.
The £8.3m facility would comprise a 450sqm building including a waiting area, family viewing area, chapel, crematorium space and office.
However, both the scope of the designs and cost of construction have increased, leading to a budget gap of £2.54m, according to a council report published this month.
Deputy leader Clyde Loakes rubber-stamped the plan to borrow the extra money at a private meeting yesterday (8th January), bringing the total cost to £10.9m.
The designs for the new facility are still underway, though the town hall expects it to be up and running by 2026.
According to a council report, the uplift will be funded by “prudential borrowing” and repaid over the next 25 years by income from the service. The project will still yield a profit, estimated to be around £21m.
A report from 2023 indicated the facility would need to carry out 1,200 cremations per year at a fee of about £900 each.
The borough does not currently have either a crematorium or chapel for nondenominational funeral services.
Benefits of the scheme include easing “funeral day logistics”, accommodating residents of diverse beliefs, reducing traffic and creating additional revenue, according to a previous report.
Electric cremators would also help reduce the borough’s carbon footprint, the authority says.
At the current rate of burials, the cemetery is projected to run out of space in about eight years.
However, the scheme has drawn backlash from residents, with some calling it “disrespectful”.
In a December 2023 letter to the Echo, local resident Patrick Smith said: “Any imposition of a crematorium would impede the existing public rights of way and would lead to increased motor vehicle pollution from high volumes of daily traffic congestion.
“To create a crematorium in Chingford Mount Cemetery would be disrespectful to the dead and distressing to the living as well as thousands of bereaved families.”
Construction on the new facility is expected to begin this year, subject to planning permission.
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