North Yorkshire Council
Executive
04 August 2026
Woodlands Crematorium Cremator Replacement Project
Report of the Corporate Director - Environment
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek approval from Executive for £2.5 million capital funding to replace the existing gas cremators at the Council’s Woodlands Crematorium in Scarborough.
2.0 SUMMARY
2.1 To address critical compliance, operational, and sustainability issues at Woodlands crematorium, its two existing gas cremators (installed in 2004) need to be replaced with modern gas cremators to support the site’s long-term future. The decision to replace with modern like-for-like gas cremators, rather than replace with electric or hybrid alternatives, was made through an Options appraisal submitted as a Gateway B project proposal by the Corporate and other Capital Project Board on 9 January 2026.
2.2 This project has been reported to Corporate Capital Board on 01 May 2026. The outcome of the discussion was that this report should be brought to Executive to seek approval for the necessary funding.
3.0 BACKGROUND
3.1 Woodlands crematorium was constructed in 1961 and has provided a vital service to the local community for over six decades. The current gas cremators were installed in 2004 and are now 22 years old. Cremator manufacturer and supplier guidance state they have a useful life cycle of 20 years. The cremators at Woodlands are therefore overdue for replacement. One of the impacts of continuing to use older cremators is increased servicing and maintenance costs. This is demonstrated over the last three financial years (2023/24 to 2025/26) with the total annual servicing and call-out maintenance costs for the Woodlands cremators being £40,737, £74,093 and £36,459 respectively.
3.2 The reason that this replacement is being sought now is because of the financial risk of increased maintenance call out charges and the growing difficulty in sourcing replacement parts for machinery that is now over 20 years old. The practical impact of this is that due to the growing lead in time for repair the Council runs the risk of needing to close the crematorium whilst it implements a back-up plan involving mobile gas cremator, so whilst the cremators are currently still operational, their age is now a major risk that the service is having to manage.
3.3 As Environmental Permitting regulations change and inevitably lead to stricter emission standards, older cremators become unable to meet new legislative demands and therefore cannot continue to operate (see paragraph 10.1).
4.0 DETAILED PRESENTATION OF THE SUBSTANTIVE ISSUE
4.1 Replacement cremators with associated filtration and heat exchange plant will:
· reduce call-out/repair costs
· extend the operational life of the crematorium for at least 20 years and ensure the continuation of a valued service to local communities and a significant source of income for NYC (see section 9 in this report)
· lower energy consumption and operational costs compared to the existing cremators. Research from suppliers/manufacturers has estimated that upgraded cremators installed at customer sites can reduce gas consumption by up to 25% compared to older grades currently in use at Woodlands Crematorium
· increase capacity to accommodate larger coffins, which our existing cremators are unable to cope with, due to dimension restrictions. By installing new cremators we could carry out more cremations per year, potentially providing additional cremation income of approximately £9k.
4.2 Alternative options ranging from “do nothing” to installing electric or hybrid cremators were considered. See Appendix A and Section 7 for more details on this matter.
5.0 CONSULTATION UNDERTAKEN AND RESPONSES
5.1 Various previous reports have been considered by the Council’s Corporate and other Capital Project Board for this project as follows:
· Project Mandate (1 May 2025), Project Assurance Group (12 December 2025), Project Proposal (12 January 2026) and Outline Business Case (1 May 2026).
5.2 Owing to the level of capital funding requested for this project Capital Project Board has referred them to Executive for a decision.
6.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
6.1 This project contributes to the following Council priorities: sustainable and connected places; maximise the potential of North Yorkshire’s people and communities and One council with strong, local and customer led services.
7.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
7.1 Property Services and the Bereavement Service submitted an appraisal using a scoring matrix with the project proposal for capital board approval, as reproduced in Appendix A. The appraisal assessed the following criteria: Desirability, Feasibility, and Viability. The assessment recommended gas as the preferred solution for the cremator replacement.
7.2 A summary of the reasons why Capital Board supported this option were as follows:
· gas-only replacement (like-for-like) with a programme of phased work to ensure the crematorium remains operational
· due to the existing building design, replacement cremators and associated plant equipment will follow a ‘like-for-like’ installation strategy, (gas burners) located within the current technical areas of the crematorium
· replacing existing gas cremators like-for-like is the most cost-effective option – when we consider the additional necessary electrical infrastructure upgrade required to the site to support the latter options and the need for a temporary cremator during the construction phase
· replacing with like-for-like, upgraded gas cremators will provide energy savings compared to the existing cremators, due to technological advancement in this cremation process over the last 20 years
· the cremation process using gas is shorter in duration by an average of 30 minutes to one hour compared to the electric option
· the risks of service disruption during the construction phase of the project are lower for the like-for-like gas replacement option, compared to the other options.
7.3 The discounted options were:
· electric-only replacement, requiring a power supply upgrade and temporary cremator hire, all additional costs, which provide a higher risk of service disruption. The total estimated costs of replacing gas with electric cremators is approximately double the cost of gas cremators at £3million (not including any prelims, contingency or fees). Furthermore, feedback from staff at Maple Park Crematorium who operate an electric only cremator, is that they have experienced issues with extended down time during annual servicing, delays in repairs, with contractors travelling from mainland Europe and minimal heat control on the cremator
· hybrid cremators (gas/electric elements) - operational issues as electric cremators. Plus, hybrid models are an unknown technology with minimal installations in the UK
· hybrid cremators (gas elements only), adaptable to electric when funding becomes available - operational issues as outlined above with power upgrade costs deferred to a later date
· defer all proposed works. Increased risk of cremator failure and continued repair costs.
8.0 IMPACT ON OTHER SERVICES/ORGANISATIONS
8.1 There are no impacts if a decision is made to approve the capital funding to deliver the cremator replacement project.
8.2 If it is decided not to replace the cremators at Woodlands crematorium it will eventually lead to the cessation of NYC cremation services for residents in the coastal areas of North Yorkshire. Residents and local Funeral Directors will be forced to travel greater distances to use their next nearest crematorium near Driffield, which is run by a private funeral company, Dignity, or another NYC crematorium, such as Maple Park near Thirsk.
9.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
9.1 APS Stage 01 feasibility cost estimate for the proposed works at Woodlands Crematorium, estimates the overall project will cost £2.5million. The table below summarises the breakdown of these costs, most of which will be needed in the next financial year (2027/28). An additional £0.47million contingency fund has been included to cover any increase beyond figures provided by APS as the scheme progresses through the necessary tender process and detailed design stages of the project.
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Description |
Cost (£k) |
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Building Works: High level desktop estimate for replacement of gas cremators Preliminaries 10% contingency 5% Design development 4% inflation to end of construction period |
1,400 193 140 70 56 |
|
APS Professional fees |
129 |
|
NYC Capital services Recharge @ 2% of building works |
40 |
|
Additional contingency to cover increase in costs following tender process and detailed design stages of project |
470 |
|
Total costs |
2,498 |
9.2 Investment in the crematorium and cremators will safeguard service continuity, support the local supply chain and maintain a significant annual income generated per year. Over the last three financial years a total of £3.041million in cremation fees has been achieved from Woodlands Crematorium, which is an average of just over £1million in annual income, generated from approximately 1,000 to 1,100 cremations per year. In terms of the costs of maintaining and operating these cremators this is approximately £200k per year. This takes account of servicing/repair and staff costs and utility bills. The net surplus to NYC per year is an estimated £800k.
9.3 It is proposed that the funding required to meet the above costs of this project will come from the Council’s Strategic Capacity Reserve.
10.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
10.1 The operation of Woodlands Crematorium requires a permit under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and must comply with strict conditions to minimise and control pollutants released into the environment from cremations undertaken. The replacement of Woodlands cremators will require close liaison with the Council’s Environmental Protection team to ensure they are satisfied that a new permit can be issued so the new cremators can operate.
10.2 he replacement of Woodlands Crematorium’s cremators is a specialist service and requires the procurement of an external contractor to carry out the construction phase of the project. We have been advised that there are two cremator manufacturers/suppliers on YPO-framework, one of which installed the existing ones at Woodlands, Facultative Technologies (FT). They also carry out all the servicing and maintenance of the cremators. FT also installed and service/maintain, and cremators used at two of NYC’s other crematoria at Stonefall and Skipton. We have been advised by the Procurement Lead for this project that a further competition via the YPO Crematoria Solutions III framework is the most appropriate procurement route which complies with the Council’s internal governance and Procurement Legislation. Align Property Services (APS) will be given the direct award to project manage the delivery of this project.
11.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
11.1 An initial equality impact assessment screening been completed and is attached at Appendix B, indicating that a full equalities impact assessment is not required.
12.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
12.1 It is anticipated that installing modern gas cremators with an optimized combustion system at this location will improve energy performance to the extent that there will be an annual 25% reduction in gas consumption when compared against the current operation. This reduction will reduce carbon emissions, and help to improve air quality, both of which support the Council’s Net Zero 2030 target and contribute to a more environmentally friendly cremation process.
12.2 The crematorium also operates a heat exchange system which means that heat generated by the cremators is used to provide heating to the Chapel.
12.2 A Climate Change Assessment has been completed and is attached at Appendix C. This indicates that this project will either result in positive or neutral impacts on climate change.
13.0 PERFORMANCE IMPLICATIONS
13.1 The impact of a decision not to replace Woodlands gas cremators are outlined in paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 of this report i.e. a greater risk of service disruption to cremations undertaken at this site and ultimately leading to the permanent cessation of this community facility.
14.0 RISK MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS
14.1 The Woodlands cremator replacement project will be managed with a programme of phased work to ensure the crematorium remains operational. This will involve replacing one cremator while the second existing one remains operational. Once the first new cremator has been installed, commissioned and is ready to operate the contractor will replace the second cremator while the first new cremator is operational. It is proposed to start the construction phase of this project in the summer period of 2027 when the demand for cremations is lowest to minimise disruption. NYC’s Environmental Protection team will be fully involved in this project to ensure that their requirements concerning permitting conditions are met to ensure the new cremators are fully compliant with Environmental Protection legislation.
15.0 HUMAN RESOURCES IMPLICATIONS
15.1 There are no direct human resource implications regarding the Woodlands cremator replacement project unless a decision is made not to replace the existing ones. Such an outcome will eventually lead to them becoming inoperable and Crematorium unable to conduct cremations, leading to staff redundancies in Bereavement services.
16.0 CONCLUSIONS
16.1 The Council’s Bereavement services provide much valued and long-established facilities for the local communities across the county in terms of its cemeteries and crematoria provisions. Woodlands Crematorium in Scarborough has been providing cremation services to the Council’s coastal communities for over six decades and in the last three years has carried over 1,000 cremations and generated over £1million income each year. The existing gas cremators have reached the end of their life cycle and need replacement in the short-term. If this does not happen servicing and repairs costs will continue to increase and cause service disruption. If the Council do not commit to their replacement the cremators will eventually become inoperable and cremations services will cease. Replacing with gas cremators is the most cost-effective option that will cause less risk of service disruption compared to other options such as electric or hybrid alternatives.
17.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
17.1 A decision to approve the capital funding for the Woodlands cremator replacement project will safeguard the long-term future of Woodlands Crematorium for at least 20 years. This will continue a much-valued service for NYC’s coastal communities that has been established for the last 65 years.
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18.0 |
RECOMMENDATIONS
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|
18.1
18.2 |
It is recommended that Executive approves £2.5 million in capital funding to enable the gas cremators at Woodlands Crematorium in Scarborough to be replaced, like for like, with new upgraded ones.
It is proposed to fund this project through NYC’s Strategic Capacity Reserve.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Options appraisal for Woodlands Cremator replacement project
Appendix B – Equalities impact assessment screening form
Appendix C – Climate Change Assessment form
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
Woodlands Crematorium replacement cremator cost
Karl Battersby
Corporate Director – Environment
County Hall
Northallerton
2 July 2026
Report Author – Jonathan Bramley, Bereavement Projects Manager
Presenter of Report – Karl Battersby Corporate Director Environment
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.