Is it too late

to rethink

Boston's plans

for crematorium?

Among the items mentioned in the borough’s three year plan (see yesterday’s blog Future imperfect) is Boston Crematorium – which gets the one-line pledge: “We will be investing in our crematorium to reduce emissions and provide a better service to you …”
Coincidentally, the crem was on the agenda of another meeting this week – with an update for councillors on plans for much needed improvements.
It comes after the council decided not to “privatise” its bereavement services but instead to continue to operate them in-house.
The biggest spend will be a compulsory £500,000 investment in mercury abatement cremators before the end of the year – and there is also a proposal to create a £50,000 annual improvement reserve to fund enhancements over the coming three years  ... including extra car parking, improved drainage and cosmetic works such as decoration,  plus changes to the public waiting area facilities for funeral directors and staff, spending on chapel furnishings and lighting, and the reinstatement of a water feature.
It is also proposed to set up a heritage fund to develop and protect the listed buildings, wildlife, and historic interest of the older cemetery – something that is long overdue.
Presumably, the decision not to farm the service out was due in part to the fact that it makes what is called a “modest” profit – expected to be around £140,000 in the current financial year.
However, the decision seems increasingly questionable.
Earlier discussions had acknowledged that the crematorium at Alford was having an impact on Boston’s business, which had seen a drop in use of almost 30% which reduced income by many thousands of pounds.
In ways that matter more than the actual distance travelled, Alford is more easily accessible than Boston -  and its fees are lower.
Aside from that, Boston’s cremation fees will rise to £540 in April and by “a modest” £10 a year thereafter, when the current cost at Alford is £460.
Whilst the idea of Alford being more accessible than Boston may sound a little daft, there is a still darker cloud on the horizon.
The council has had its attention drawn to plans by a private business to submit an application for a crematorium in Surfleet, near Spalding.
An extract from a local newspaper report has been accompanied by some nit-picking comments over the precise location - plus a couple of comparisons between the proposed new facility and our own, designed to show Boston in a comparable light.
But what seems to have been overlooked is the calculation that a crematorium in Surfleet would have a catchment area of 98,000 people, and could reduce local road miles by 350,000 as funeral corteges would have less distance to travel. - which is surely a great incentive if you own a fleet of gas-guzzling hearses.
This is calculated on the new facility taking 933 cremations away from Boston’s current total of around 1,800.
A Spalding funeral director is quoted as saying: “The majority of our funerals take place at Boston Crematorium. We have to allow nearly an hour to reach there and often encounter heavy traffic, which adds extra stress for the bereaved. People would like to see a more local facility.”
He’s quite clearly right, and we wonder whether there is still time rethink the wisdom of Boston Borough Council continuing to run its own bereavement services.
Clearly, another crematorium at Surfleet would have a considerable impact on Boston, although it might well see less business being “poached” by Alford.
If the decision remains unchanged there ought at least to be consideration of the way the place is approached.
The Robin Hood’s Road/Marian Road access is far from ideal, passing as it does a school and a fire station, after a heavy hack through the town’s traffic.
If funds can be found to enhance the old cemetery, there would seem to be a good case for reversing the traffic flow so that entry could be from Horncastle Road through the old lodge gates. If nothing else it would create an improved ambiance for mourners.
The whole business needs some more thought – otherwise Boston Crematorium could easily become a seldom used white elephant.

You can write to us at boston.eye@googlemail.com   Your e-mails will be treated in confidence and published anonymously if requested.
Our former blog is archived at: http://bostoneyelincolnshire.blogspot.com