The planned expansion of York’s crematorium at an estimated cost of £560,000 has taken a step forward.
A contract for works to expand York Crematorium, in Bishopthorpe, with a new waiting area and accessible toilet, has been awarded to Chester Composites Ltd.
City of York Council officials stated the crematorium was in dire need of modernisation so that it could compete with newer private venues.
The awarding of the contract following a winning bid of £435,000 plus additional costs and fees comes after the council’s executive approved funding for the project in February 2025.
A total of £596,000 has been set aside for the project, including £36,000 on top of the estimated £560,000 cost.
A council report on the decision to award the contract stated it followed years of talks with funeral directors ahead of the planned expansion.
It added further delays in improving the building would impact on the future operation of the site and could see cost revenues and the facility lost.
The report stated: “The crematorium site is in dire need of modernization and maintenance and requires additional capacity to compete with private venues now being built.
“Facilities are not of a professional standard and require significant repair and
development.
“A further procurement would only see costs increase and would require significant additional time.”
York Crematorium was built in 1962 for the York Corporation, according to the York C20 Architectural Gazette project.
It was designed by city architect Ernest Firth following a rise in the popularity of cremations in the previous decades.
The designer, along with project architect Richard Sawyer and City Engineer CJ Minter, did not want to hide the building’s purpose and the building’s chimney features prominently.
A new covered entrance was installed in 2003 to provide shelter, with further modifications done from 2011 to 2013.
The size of the Ebor Chapel was doubled to host bigger services and a glass-walled Floral Remembrance Room was also added.
