Plans submitted for a new Crematorium to serve Maldon area
Following consultation with local residents and stakeholders, crematorium developer Elegy has submitted a planning application to build a new crematorium off the Maldon Road, near to Woodham Mortimer.
The new funeral venue, if approved, would finally provide a local choice for people in the district of Maldon, as well as the Witham area, so that they didn’t have to endure the long drive to Chelmsford or further afield to Basildon and Colchester.
Funeral directors operating in the Maldon area have confirmed that all of these choices involve a drive of 40 minutes or more. Chelmsford, the nearest crematorium, is also holding many more funerals, almost ten a day on average, than it was originally designed for in 1961. There have, understandably, been delays in being able to arrange a funeral and complaints of the site being congested.
A new crematorium would greatly relieve this pressure and provide a much more tranquil and dignified setting for funerals.
The new crematorium would seat 100 people and is expected to hold just 4 funerals per day, enabling better spacing between funeral services and a less rushed funeral experience than families endure at present. A minimum of an hour will be allowed for each service along with state-of-the-art facilities allowing each family to have a funeral of their choice, free from the pressure of others.
Elegy’s Managing Director Richard Evans said: ‘The consultation with local residents and organisations has been very important to us and allowed us to enhance our plans. We were encouraged by the support that we received but we also realise how important it is to deliver on our promises. Our real work starts with the first funeral and it is in our interest to create the most beautiful setting for them and to provide privacy to our neighbours too.’
The crematorium has been sensitively designed to match the local character with the use of timber cladding, red brick and a plain tiled roof. This should help it blend into the countryside, especially as it will be screened on all sides with trees, hedgerow and a green living wall. Just 10% of the site will be developed with the rest left as a green landscape.
The crematorium will also be one of the most environmentally friendly ever built, with the very latest filtration equipment included to ensure that the operation is effectively clean to air and extensive use of renewable energy. Mr Evans added: ‘It is our expectation that the crematorium will ultimately be carbon neutral with recycled heat providing a significant renewable energy source. There will also be extensive tree planting across the site.