Moves have been made to soften the impact of the six-month closure of Perth Crematorium’s chapel as part of a multi-million pound upgrade.
The £2.2 million refurbishment of Perth Crematorium will be timed to coincide with building work on a controversial new link road
The planned road, which is part of the first phase of the £35 million Perth Transport Futures Project, will be built on land between Perth Crematorium and McDiarmid Park, home of St Johnstone FC.
The refurbishment of Perth Crematorium is scheduled to begin in June 2017. The work, which includes changes to the internal structure and layout of rooms, will mean the crematorium chapel is closed until early December next year.
Cremations will still be carried out within the building by arrangement with local funeral directors but there will be approximately four to six weeks when cremators machinery will be installed to bring the building into line with new regulations.
It will be the first major upgrade of the building since it opened in 1962 and will include essential upgrades to its electrics and central heating systems.
Councillor Alan Grant, convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s environment committee, said the improvements to Perth Crematorium are based on feedback received from funeral directors and attendees.
“These changes will help provide a more comforting environment for bereaved relatives and friends,” he said.
“Unfortunately it is just not feasible to carry out the work while maintaining access to the crematorium chapel. Every effort will be made to minimise the length of time the work takes, and to ensure cremations can continue during much of the work, which will allow the option for funeral services to continue to take place locally.”
He continued: “Crematorium staff have already begun to engage with local funeral directors to ensure that they are aware of the proposals, and to explain how access to the crematorium building will be maintained for them throughout the neighbouring road works.
“The council is committed to continue working together with them and other partners to ensure that these changes are made in a sensitive way, and to ensure we can continue to offer a fit-for-purpose crematorium for Perth and Kinross into the future.”
The new road will create an improved link between the A9 and the A85 Crieff Road to reduce traffic congestion and provide a traffic corridor to the planned new housing,secondary school and retail units at Bertha Park to the west of Perth.
Work has already begun on the new A9/A85 junction and the road is due to open in March 2019.
Councillor John Kellas, convenor of Perth and Kinross Council’s enterprise and infrastructure committee, said: “It is good to see the contractors and project teams involved are co-ordinating planning at an early stage to reduce the impact while the construction work is being carried out.”
