THE leader of BCP Council has revealed an ambition to have working cremators back at Poole Crematorium within 18 months following a widespread backlash to initial plans.
Councillor Drew Mellor made the out of the blue proposal in the face of criticism from residents, faith groups, funeral directors and opposition members.
The site at Gravel Hill has not had working cremators since April 2020 and one option could be to install electric cremators.
Environment portfolio holder Cllr Mark Anderson told a scrutiny he wanted to address the problem “as soon as possible” although no target timeframe was set at that stage.
The scrutiny committee recommended cabinet receive an options report within 18 months and to have the facility fully functional again by 2025-26.
However, at a subsequent cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Conservative Cllr Mellor dropped a new proposal which will accelerate the process.
Senior councillors agreed to his recommendation requesting a report detailing options for the replacement of cremators to be brought to cabinet in the next six months with the aim of working towards new cremators being installed in the next 18 months.
Councillor Mellor said: “Poole needs to have a crematorium facility. It is used to having it, it should have it and it is our job to get to a position where we can deliver that.”
He added: “I think it is a really strong statement to make.
“It is a strong statement for Poole, it is a strong statement for our ambition in terms of what we want to deliver.
"There is work we need to do to work out how we do that and work through that piece of work in the next six months.”
If this schedule was met, the report would come forward before residents go to the polls in May.
Councillor Mellor said there was a “responsibility on us” to address the situation at Poole Crematorium in advance of the local elections.
The timeline was not lost on former council leader Cllr Vikki Slade, Liberal Democrat, who said she was “surprised, delighted and relieved” at the new proposal.
“I can’t let it be that you can slot it in because you have realised elections are seven-and-a-half months away that suddenly the past two years’ work by the officers has been swept away when you should have asked the people of Poole and not just the people of Poole but wider Dorset that use this service,” Cllr Slade said.
Cabinet members hit out at Cllr Slade’s comments, with Cllr Anderson accusing her of trying to make “political capital when everyone else is trying to be collegiate”. He said she was the leader of the council went of action and became just a ceremonial venue.
Councillor Slade said cremations at Poole were paused in April 2020 as a last resort to prevent a “catastrophic risk of failure during operation”.
As reported, thousands of residents signed a petition calling for the council to install working cremators at Poole Crematorium, with funeral directors and faith groups backing the campaign.
It appeared that their pleas could fall on death ears until Cllr Mellor’s new plan at cabinet.
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