Day: June 4, 2014

Woodvale Crematorium to hold a ceremony on Friday, June 6 to bless its recently refurbished North Chapel.

The ceremony marks the successful completion of a nine month £1.5 million building project.

Prompted by aging equipment and changes in environmental legislation, Brighton & Hove City Council has invested in the biggest upgrade and refurbishment at the site in twenty years, making major improvements to environmental performance and the customer experience.

The crematorium remained open for funeral services throughout the project which was designed and managed by the council’s in house property maintenance team.

More efficient cremators are now using significantly less gas, reducing the crematorium’s operating costs and carbon footprint, while state-of-the-art filtration equipment is helping to minimise emissions of mercury and other pollutants from the site, in line with European rules.

At the same time, Woodvale has switched to efficient gas heating using recycled heat to help keep visitors to the 150 year old chapels warm and comfortable during services.

Other improvements included installing new music and hearing loop systems, redecorating the chapels, building new access ramps at the chapel doorways, and putting in new energy efficient lighting to the driveway.

The beautiful Victorian Extra-Mural Chapel has been redecorated with upgraded WC facilities, a new music system and a hearing loop for hearing aid users, this chapel now offers a peaceful and unique setting for customers to hold cremation, burial and memorial services.

Councillor Ollie Sykes, lead member for finance and resources, said: “I am extremely pleased that Brighton & Hove City Council has worked so closely with the local community in blessing this chapel which has been refurbished as part of these important improvement works at Woodvale Crematorium.

“The new facilities will help us provide the best possible service at what is a very difficult time for friends and relatives. We‘re using the latest equipment so that we remove most of the harmful mercury emissions and expect to save tens of thousands of pounds each year by being more efficient and using less gas.

“At the same time we will also offer improved facilities for visitors so for example we have new hearing loop systems for the deaf and hard of hearing.”

Brighton & Hove City councillors will discuss Sunday parking charges at the next meeting of Brighton & Hove’s Policy & Resources Committee on June 12.

The committee will consider three options for Sunday parking:

• Offering free parking both on and off street on Sundays

• Partial free parking on Sundays, including an extension of the lower rate winter season from four to six months (1 October to 31 March) or referring alternative suggestions for parking charges to an end of year annual review.

• Parking management, including the charging structure, plays a key part in handling the wider traffic demand and easing the pressure on parking. Enforcement of parking controls also helps improve road safety and accessibility. An effective parking charges structure supports the economy by encouraging turnover and reducing congestion, increasing footfall and spend.

A officer report outlines how on Sundays during the summer months city centre and seafront car parks fill up quickly. Pressure on parking on a busy weekend is sometimes higher than at other times during the week.

The cost to the council of providing free Sunday parking is estimated to be £2.6 million each year and an additional £1.035m one-off funds to implement. With such measures the report notes that there is a risk of potential additional congestion and reduction in air quality, which might make Brighton & Hove less attractive as a destination.

Councillor Jason Kitcat, chair of the Policy & Resources Committee, said: “Brighton & Hove is one of the busiest tourist destinations in the UK, with our economy outperforming the region and shop vacancies far below London’s rate. Offering free parking on a Sunday is likely to create more congestion and actually make it harder for those driving to find a parking space. That would have a negative impact on our economy. Retail research shows that parking controls encourage a turnover of customers that benefits nearby shops.

“Offering free parking on-street would also mean residents would find it harder to park near where they live.

“We will need to consider these significant impacts when deciding whether to adjust charges, and the report recommends looking at Sunday parking as part of the annual review of all parking charges.

“We have to balance the needs of residents and visitors and support measures that make it easier to travel around the city with people using a variety of transport options.”

Options that could be taken forward as part of the annual review could include promotional rates at Norton Road, London Road and Oxford Court car parks where demand is low on a Sunday.

Calls for the council to look at free parking on a Sunday were brought to the council meeting in March through a LIB DEM petition. Councillors decided to consider the issue more fully at the Policy & Resources Committee and look at options for free and reduced parking charges on a Sunday.