Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment introduced the report which provided an update on the development of Cheltenham’s new crematorium as it moved through its design stage. He outlined the history of the project since he had taken over the Cabinet portfolio and highlighted the excellent report which had been produced by the scrutiny task group at that time which had raised his awareness of the issues at the crematorium, particularly regarding the need to replace the cremators and the abatement system. He had taken the decision at the time to review the overall service and address the inefficiencies of the current site alongside the cremators. The project had received expert advice and had consulted with key stakeholders. The initial vision had been for the building of a new crematorium with two new chapels. However the estimated cost of £10 million was too high and a revised plan was proposed with one new chapel and continued use of one of the existing chapels at a cost of £7.5 million which the Council had given its consent to in 2015. The use of two sites did have drawbacks and so with the support of officers and Cabinet he had continued to challenge the £10 million figure and had now reached a position where the second chapel was affordable but still needed an additional £1 million of funding. This was to be funded by using the capital receipt from the sale of the cemetery lodge and money from the revenue budget reserve arising from the introduction of new crematorium fees with the balance being supported by prudential borrowing. This was the subject of the recommendation before Council today.

In concluding, the Cabinet Member emphasised that this was a very significant step in the project. The building had been given to the council 150 years ago and this decision today would allow the council to continue to provide the service for the next 150 years.

The Cabinet Member responded to questions:

• With expert advice the costs of the development had been reduced by reviewing the scale of the building, the nature of the car park and other features of the design. He now had every confidence in the figures he was putting before Council today and assured members that they had been scrutinised to a great extent.
• He confirmed that he had always maintained that the receipt from the sale of the cemetery lodge should be ring fenced for this development and therefore the receipt had not been allocated to any other capital projects.
• A member highlighted that the report asked the council to sanction a further £352,000 of prudential borrowing in addition to the other £1.8 M of loans already in place and at a time when there may be other demands on the council. Was the Cabinet Member confident that the extra business at the crematorium would be generated?
  The Cabinet Member reassured members that the business case shows that the council could support the level of loan being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15

Report of the Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the approach to providing public access to and from the new crematorium, including the development, subject to planning consent, of a new permanent road linking the new facility to Bouncer’s Lane be approved (See option ‘Route B’ at Appendix 2);

2.    the appropriation of land on prior’s farm playing field from use as open space to cemetery use be approved and authority be delegated to the Head of Property and Asset Management to carry out the appropriation should planning permission for the development of the crematorium and access road be granted;

3.    it be noted that a temporary route for construction traffic leading to the new crematorium will be required, with the preferred route to be informed by professional advice and the results of public consultation, provided in a supplementary update;

4.    subject to Council agreeing the additional project budget, the construction of a second chapel in conjunction with the new crematorium be approved.

5.    It be agreed that further work be programmed to review the options for repurposing the existing chapels and how the associated costs can be further mitigated to improve scheme viability.

Council be recommended to :

Allocate the budget for the construction of a second new chapel, including the use of the capital receipt of £275,000 from the sale of the cemetery lodge and £373,000 from the revenue budget reserve arising from the introduction of new crematorium fees in 2017-18, with the balance of £352,000 being supported by prudential borrowing.

The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment introduced the report which provided an update on the development of Cheltenham’s new crematorium as it moved through its design stage. He referred Members to an additional appendix 6 and 7 which had been circulated earlier that day which contained feedback from the recent consultation. He went on to say that the primary focus for the authority had been the building of a new crematorium on council owned land to the east of the current cemetery retaining the existing chapel for services. This was the only viable scheme at the time due to the finances involved. At the November meeting of Cabinet consideration was given to pursuing the business case around the building of a second new chapel as part of the development. The business case had shown that if this was pursued there would be a number of interesting possibilities for the existing listed buildings which would derive income for the authority. However, now was not the time for a project on the use of the existing building but the proposal being recommended was to proceed with the building of a second chapel. This was to be funded by using the capital receipt from the sale of the cemetery lodge and money from the revenue budget reserve arising from the introduction of new crematorium fees with the balance being supported by prudential borrowing.

The Cabinet Member highlighted that building two new chapels at the same time was reasonable and postponing the second chapel build into the future would not be in the best interests of the town. He recognised however concern for the future of the existing listed buildings but wished to express his intent for securing the long term future of those buildings which would remain an integral part of the service provided.

The Cabinet Member then referred to the requirement for a new access route and the recommendation was for a new route on the southern boundary of the site which would be subject to planning permission. He then highlighted the need for a temporary route for construction traffic leading to the new crematorium with the preferred route to be informed by professional advice and the results of public consultation.

In concluding, the Cabinet Member emphasised that this was a very significant step in the project and Council would be recommended to allocate the budget for the construction of the second chapel at its meeting on March 27 and with the application for planning permission expected in April or May. He wished to put his thanks on record for the commitment of officers in the project to date.

The Leader recognised the enormity and complexity of the project and believed that incorporating the build of the second chapel now was the appropriate way forward.

RESOLVED THAT

1.    the approach to providing public access to and from the new crematorium, including the development, subject to planning consent, of a new permanent road linking the new facility to Bouncer’s Lane be approved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7