A CEREMONY has been held to mark the £1.5 million revamp of a crematorium.

The ceremony led by the Right Reverend Richard Jackson was held yesterday to mark the completion of a nine-month project to refurbish the North Chapel at Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton.

Brighton and Hove City Council has invested in the biggest upgrade and refurbishment at the site in twenty years to replace ageing equipment and meet changes in environmental legislation.

More efficient cremators are now in place using significantly less gas, reducing the crematorium’s operating costs and carbon footprint, and state-of-the-art filtration equipment to reduce emissions of mercury and other pollutants from the site.

Efficient gas heating using recycled heat will also help keep mourners in the 150-year-old chapels warm and comfortable during services. The changes are set to cut running costs by up to £42,000 a year.

Councillor Ollie Sykes, lead member for finance and resources, said: “I am extremely pleased that Brighton and Hove City Council has worked so closely with the local community in blessing this chapel, which has been refurbished as part of these important improvement works at Woodvale Crematorium.”