Waltham Forest Council has said ‘residents should be able to pay final respects to their loved ones in their home borough’ after a crematorium expert said the plans were not appropriate or necessary, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter
Waltham Forest Council has defended its new crematorium in Chingford after critics said it is inappropriate and unnecessary.
A leading crematorium expert, Dr Brian Parsons, has challenged the credentials of the £11million facility in Chingford Mount Cemetery.
He said he objected to the high cost of the new unit, and that its placement in a cemetery was “unorthodox in the modern day”.
The facility was given planning permission in April last year, after proposals were agreed by the cabinet in 2023, despite concern from some local campaigners.
Currently, more than 85,000 Waltham Forest residents live more than a half-hour’s drive away from a dedicated facility. That equates to around 1,625 cremations annually, according to council figures.
The council maintains it is necessary to meet demand, based on predictions it will run out of burial space by 2033, and that the borough needs its own crematorium.
A town hall spokesperson said residents of Waltham Forest “should be able to pay final respects to their loved ones here in their home borough”.
He added that the business case had been “carefully prepared”.
“It contains a detailed analysis of demand, accessibility, and future demographic growth alongside robust financial modelling,” he said.
“The choice of location was evidence-led and carefully considered, having been informed by both an independent need assessment and an alternative site assessment.”
However, Dr Parsons argues that existing crematoria in North and East London such as Enfield, City of London, Manor Park and Forest Park are all operating below capacity.
A report published by the expert calculates that these facilities handled around 7,000 cremations in 2024 despite having capacity for around 16,000, based on data from the Cremation Society of Great Britain.
He has also criticised the financial viability of the scheme, questioning whether families will actually switch from long-established crematoria they already use once the facility is open.
In his report, he warns it could take “many years” for the council to make its money back by not carrying out cremations on weekends and charging heavy discounts for morning services or for under-18s.
If the council were to charge the full £1,000 for all 1,625 cremations, it would bring in £1.625m a year.
Dr Parsons also joined residents in questioning whether the cemetery was a suitable location for a crematorium.
He said that post-war crematoria tended to be built in areas that did not already house graves, and the Chingford Mount crematorium “flew in the face of current practice in the UK”.
Additionally, the gardens of remembrance “appear to be limited to the area surrounding the pond on the south side of the drive” and were surrounded by graves, which he called “totally inadequate and inappropriate”.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that authorities typically chose more open spaces to allow for bigger gardens and “more room for memorialisations”.
In response to concerns that it could lead to parking stress, the council spokesperson said: “We have undertaken extensive modelling and planning underpinned by real-world data to make sure there is minimal impact on local traffic.
“The average number of vehicles attending per service is around 21. Old Church Road currently sees approximately 10,000 vehicle movements per day – the new crematorium will add 168 to this on average. Ample parking provision already exists at the cemetery for the use of mourners.”
The crematorium is set to be up and running later this year.
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