Newark and Sherwood District Council plans to contribute £212k towards £7m crematorium refurbishment

Newark and Sherwood District Council plans to contribute £212,000 towards the refurbishment of the area’s main crematorium at Mansfield.

The investment will see the facility undergo extensive building works.

It comes after the council said the crematorium facility requires “significant refurbishment or replacement”.

Mansfield and District Crematorium serves the areas of Ashfield, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood and sits on Derby Road just off the A60.

A total of £7.37 million will be invested into the project by three councils — Ashfield District Council, Mansfield District Council and Newark and Sherwood Council — which will be covered through a loan and joint crematorium reserves.

The crematorium is run by the joint crematorium committee, which consists of three representatives each from Ashfield District Council, Mansfield District Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council because the site is used by people from across the area.

The joint committee requested contributions from all three councils, of which Newark’s share would be £237,018 funded by the council’s change management reserve.

The crematorium refurbishment will include the installation of electric cremators, solar panels, rainwater harvesting and heat recovery systems to support the council’s commitments to decarbonisation.

The crematorium currently operates two chapels and runs three gas-fuelled cremators.

It has a capacity of 5,088 cremations a year when fully operational.

The joint committee met on February 24, 2025 and agreed to recommend that the councils undertake the refurbishment programme.

The crematorium generates up to £400,000 a year in revenue from its services — up to £230,00 per year for Newark alone, documents say.

The funds are then put into services across Newark.

Documents add: “Once the refurbishment work has been completed it is anticipated, as contributions have been made to the capital works, and borrowing has been minimised, that surplus’ should accrue back to previous levels quite quickly. ”

Works are expected to begin in the next 12 months.

The crematorium will remain fully operational while building work takes place.

Documents say: “The preferred option is for a refurbishment of the facility which will require the crematorium to invest £7.37m, which will be covered in part by a specific loan and joint crematorium reserves.

“The joint committee requested contributions from the constituent council’s, of which Newark and Sherwood’s share would be £237,018 based on our share of throughput.

“This was considered preferable to borrowing the full amount jointly.

“It gave each council the option of whether to fund the contribution from reserves or borrowing.

“The £237,018 is split into a capital contribution to the build and revenue cost to fund the forecasted deficit in the first year.”

The project is set to be discussed at a meeting of the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, April 1, for approval.