Worcester’s crematorium will be closed for nine months while a multi-million pound scheme to upgrade its equipment takes place.

Talks are underway for families to use another crematorium during the closure, which is likely to be from May 2025.

A £5.5 million plan to upgrade the furnaces at Astwood Crematorium will go before city councillors next week.

Worcester City Council is looking to replace three gas-powered cremators that were installed at the crematorium in 1997 with two new electric furnaces.

The upgrade would save the council £20,000 a year in energy costs and would cut 18 per cent from its predicted carbon footprint, the council says.

The cost of installing the two new electric cremators is £5.5m but this will be partly funded by a £1.5m grant from Salix, a non-departmental public body that awards government funds to help authorities reduce carbon emissions.

The replacement of the cremators is part of a wider scheme to renovate the crematorium supported by the council’s environment committee in July last year.

Documents published ahead of next Tuesday’s (July 9) council meeting say no further detailed cost estimates have been made for the ‘front of house’ part of the project so estimates remain at £2.7m.

The works are likely to take around nine months to finish, during which time the crematorium will be closed to the public.

“During this time, it is planned to continue to offer a Worcester City Council Cremation and Funeral Service offer,” council papers state.

“Work has commenced on identifying a suitably located and appropriate venue to host services, whilst arrangements are being discussed to utilise a neighbouring local authority crematorium to undertake cremations on the council’s behalf.”

The council expects to lose around £150,000 in income during the nine-month construction period but says this will be offset by the reduction in energy usage during this time.