This article is more than 1 year old

Crematorium to heat council swimming pool

'A bit strange and eerie', shudders funeral director

A funeral director has described Redditch Borough Council's plan to use crematorium furnaces to heat a municipal swimming pool as "a bit strange and eerie".

The authority's novel idea involves sucking calories from Borough Of Redditch Cemeteries & Crematorium to the nearby Abbey Stadium Sports Centre.

The facility's cremators dispatch the departed into the hereafter at 800°C, the Telegraph notes, and that heat is lost to the heavens.

By tapping into the crematorium, the council stands to save £14,500 annually on its heating costs.

Council leader Carole Gandy said of the pragmatic proposal: "I'd much rather use the energy rather than just see it going out of the chimney and heating the sky. It will make absolutely no difference to the people who are using the crematorium for services.

"I do recognise some people might not like it, but if they don't they don't have to use our crematorium. I wouldn't want them to do that but they have to make that choice.

She added: "It's only a proposal at the moment but personally I'm supportive of it because I think it will save the authority money and, in the long-term, save energy which is what we're all being told we should do."

Gordon Hull, from the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities, admitted the plan had planet-hugging potential. He said: "From an environmental view it makes sense that you don't need a separate boiler because of how much waste heat is created from the process."

However, local funeral director Simon Thomas expressed concerns, shuddering: "I don't know how comfortable people would feel about the swimming pool being heated due to the death of a loved one, I think it's a bit strange and eerie.

"I'm not comfortable with it at all and I think trying to save money due to the death of someone's family member or friend is a bit sick. I think it will cause uproar and may even put people off using the facilities which would lose the council money. It just doesn't feel right."

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like