Rochdale cremator due to be repaired

Rochdale Cemetery entrance

A broken cremator at Rochdale crematorium is set to be repaired in the next few weeks.

Both cremators at the crematorium have had issues this year: one has already undergone repairs and is now back in full working order, whilst the other will be fixed soon.

Councillor Neil Emmott, cabinet member for environment at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We have had issues with both of our cremators at Rochdale crematorium this year. One was repaired very quickly and is back in use, running at full capacity, the other is due to be fixed in the coming weeks. We are fortunate we do have our third cremator in Middleton working as normal and this can offer additional support if required.

“Our current waiting time for a funeral booking is the normal one to two weeks. This can change based on demand and we appreciate families may need to be accommodating on dates and times at a difficult period for them.

“We are regularly updating funeral directors of the situation so that they can keep families fully informed. Assistance agreements are in place with Greater Manchester authorities to cover exceptional instances such as this.

“A small number of cremations have taken place at our neighbours in Oldham after the service has taken place in Rochdale and with the prior knowledge of the family. Oldham operates a very similar service to ourselves and we haven’t been impacted by additional costs.”