£388k expansion plan at West Bromwich crematorium agreed

The £388,000 revamp of Sandwell Valley Crematorium in Newton Road will provide a space for more than 100 mourners to gather following a cremation.

Under the plans the former office space will be converted into a catering facility for food preparation, a dining area will be built and additional toilet facilities installed.

The £3.25m site is being expanded as a result of the success of a small cafe at the crematorium that opened in 2010.

Councillor Mahboob Hussain, cabinet member for town and neighbourhood service, said: "For many years now we have listened to people and provided the services they want. We have a small cafe at the crematorium that has proved really popular with people waiting for funerals and after they taken place, which led us to develop the idea for a wake facility. "

And he added:"We believe this is the first of its kind in the West Midlands and one of only two in the entire country."

The expansion of the centre has been funded through borrowing that was approved by the council's deputy leader, Councillor Steve Eling at the start of this year.

The new facility will see the creation of two new jobs as well as an extra 22 parking spaces at the site.

"We are seeing major improvements in all of our burial and cremation service and have invested a significant amount of money over the last few years," added Councillor Hussain.

"We are always looking at new ways of making further improvements to the service we provide and the improvements being made at Sandwell Valley Crematorium are just one of a number being made over the borough."

The catering contract will be outsourced to an external provider. It is hoped the facility will be completed by September.

The crematorium might also soon be the home of the country's third digital autopsy centre that uses the latest CT scanner technology to peer inside the human body and find the cause of death without the need for a scalpel.

The non-invasive process is designed to make autopsies less upsetting for relatives and speedier than a traditional post mortem.

Applicant's iGene London Ltd have submitted the scheme to Sandwell Council that once completed with will allow the body to be released for burial or cremation sooner.

If a planning application for the development is given the go ahead by council chiefs the new centre will create five new support staff positions.

The site would also be used by pathologists from across the West Midlands to quickly and accurately determine cause of death.