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.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.