Member Article

Construction on multi-million-pound crematorium in Huntingdon underway

Building work on Huntingdon Town Council’s innovative new crematorium that will home the first all-electric, carbon neutral cremator in the UK has begun.

The £7m project comprises of a Crematorium building, café/function building, a cemetery that will provide over 2,000 spaces and a depot building and for the Town Council.

There will also be a glasshouse that utilises waste heat from the cremators to allow plant production all year round for the town of Huntingdon.

Rainwater will be harvested to water the plants on site, with solar panels installed on the building to generate electricity which, in turn, will charge the battery-operated maintenance equipment and on-site vehicle charging.

The composting of flowers, grass cuttings and hedge trimmings will be undertaken on site using an ‘eco-green composter’, with the compost used across the town’s flower beds and for growing plants.

Huntingdon Town Council and The CDS Group have appointed MAC Construction Consultants to oversee the Project Management, Cost Management and Environment, Health and Safety elements of the construction.

Philip Peacock, Town Clerk from Huntingdon Town Council commented: “After spending five years establishing a suitable site for this ground-breaking project, it is fantastic to see this milestone reached meaning we are one step closer to its completion.

“We are working closely with the MAC team to ensure that we are able to use the most innovative technologies to make this an environmentally viable and sustainable option.”

Giles Witheat, Director at MAC added: “This development is a really important one for the local area and the council’s responsible approach to ensuring all elements from landscaping to safety are considered is really encouraging.

“Working on such a ground-breaking project that will develop the first all-electric cremators in the UK is a real honour for us as a team.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gina Francey .