Work on £4m. cremation facility set for this year
CONSTRUCTION of a new £3.88m. cremation facility alongside the existing chapel at Le Foulon could begin later this year, and could see the island able to handle up 600 cremations a year, if the States backs the project.
The announcement follows a study of options for replacing the island’s existing, outdated, cremation equipment.
The 16-year-old facility is approaching the end of its life and staff have been struggling to source replacement parts. It is scheduled to be replaced next summer.
The States’ Trading and Supervisory Board is asking the States for an additional £3.63m – on top of the £250k they already have – to take the project forward.
Mark Ogier, Property Services Head of Estates Strategy, said: ‘The requirement to regularly manage extremes of temperature from cold to up to 1,000 degrees makes breakdowns associated with thermal stresses inevitable.
‘This can result in extended periods of critical service interruption, hence the strong recommendation to fit two units in the new facility.’
Other sites were considered, but the policy letter notes that moving to a new site would see the capital cost nearly double to £7m.
The preferred proposal would see a new building built to the west of the existing chapel
It would be able to handle coffins up to 2.5m. long, 1.05m wide and 0.85m high, with a maximum weight of 300kg.
A specialist project manager and architects have been appointed to provide advice on the project, due to the complexity of maintaining a working facility until a new cremator is operational.
The initial scoping of options identified that the current chapel had insufficient space to install a new, modern cremator.
‘Very early in this project it became obvious that the proposed equipment replacement was not as simple as removing the existing cremator and installing new equipment in the same position,’ Mr Ogier said.
‘There is insufficient space in the current chapel, even to fit a single modern unit, hence the requirement for a new building. The best-value option proposed for the replacement cremator is an extension at Le Foulon.’
The new cremator would be designed to handle up to 600 cremations.
There were just over 600 deaths last year and 435 people were cremated – just over 70%.
Funeral directors have said that the current cremator cannot cope with larger individuals as islanders have increased in average size.
The States is expected to debate the project in May.
