A leading funeral director is urging BCP Council to install electric cremators in Poole to show its eco-credentials.
For two years there have been no cremators at the Gravel Hill facility but the local authority has signalled its intent to put new ones in.
Cllr Mark Anderson said it was the council’s ambition to reinstate cremation capability in Poole ‘as quickly as possible’.
And a spokesperson for the council added that the cabinet has requested ‘a report detailing options for the replacement of cremator(s) be brought to cabinet in the next six months, with the aim of working towards new cremator(s) being installed in the next 18 months.’
Nick Douch, managing director of Douch Family Funeral Directors, wants the council to consider electric cremators which are already being used in various places across the country.
He said: “For two years, deceased persons have been driven from Poole to Bournemouth for cremation.
“Bournemouth is the second busiest crematorium in the country and demand is only rising.
“We have been urging the council to put new cremators in Poole and now they seem to be aware that the public wants them too.
“Many don’t like the idea of their loved one being driven across the conurbation for cremation. They want that process to happen in the same place as the service.
“Poole crematorium doesn’t only serve Poole but is used by those throughout the Purbecks and deep into Dorset.
“We are delighted that the council has now commissioned a new report and we would urge them to think about installing electric cremators.
“These are much better for the environment and over time could be much more cost-effective.
“They are also more likely to be future proof than the gas-fired cremators which is how all other local ones work.”