Kirkleatham Memorial Park and Crematorium officially opened by Redcar MP Ian Swales
A new £4m crematorium is already "meeting a real need" in Teesside six months after it opened.
At an official opening ceremony for the Kirkleatham Memorial Park and Crematorium, near Yearby, Howard Hodgson, chairman of operating company Memoria, said the new facility had already dealt with around 400 cremations since it opened in January.
He said: “We have been very well received, and we are doing around 80 cremations a month which, if it continues, will be ahead where we thought we would been at the end of our first year.
“This facility was created to serve the people of Teesside. We found that some people, especially those who live in East Cleveland, had to travel a long way to Middlesbrough for the crematorium. “Some families have been suffering delays of more than three weeks trying to book a convenient service time during the busier winter months.
“We are meeting a real need in the area.”
The facility becomes only the second crematorium in the Teesside area.
It attracted opposition ahead of its opening, with some locals strongly against the development - with Middlesbrough Council warning that the private development could hit cash earned by its busy Teesside Crematorium at Acklam.
View gallery Kirkleatham Memorial Park and Crematorium
View gallery
Mr Hodgson has previously said that around 154,000 people lived closer to Kirkleatham Memorial Park than any other crematorium.
It was officially opened by Redcar MP Ian Swales today.
The Lib Dem MP said: “I am delighted to see it up and running. We have had capacity problems when people have had to wait for funerals due to overcrowding.
“This facility makes sense for people who live close by. It is an investment in the area. I always say that we have a lot of industry, but maybe not the enough different types of business. This is a step in the right direction.”
A service to commemorate the opening was led by The Venerable Paul Ferguson, Bishop Designate of Whitby and also heard readings from Father Michael Baildon, of the Roman Catholic Church, Revd Chris Eddy of the Methodist Church and Humanist Karen King.
Among the guests was leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council George Dunning who said: “This is ideal for the people of Redcar and Cleveland, especially those living in East Cleveland and Redcar.”
The crematorium seats 96 and has a full capacity of 200.
The memorial park is set in more than seven acres of combined parkland and gardens, and contains water features and a garden of remembrance.
It also contains a traditional burial section as well as an environmentally friendly natural burial section. Four jobs have been created at the site.
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