A CREMATORIUM could be built on an industrial site off one of Bradford’s busiest roads if new plans are approved.

A planning application for a new crematorium to be based in an industrial building at Fellmongers’ Yard - between Valley Road and Canal Road on the edge of Bradford city centre, has been submitted to Bradford Council.

The plans, by Hull based Funeral Support Services say the aim is to create an “affordable funeral service that is both respectful and dignified.”

The company has said that it would not be a public crematorium - funeral services would be held off site, and the coffins later transported to the cremator, which would be behind a number of Canal Road’s car dealerships.

The industrial building the crematorium would be based in was built in 2016, but has been empty ever since.

The planning application says the Covid pandemic has made it more difficult for the building’s owners to find a taker for the property.

The application is just for the change of use of the building and work to the inside - there will be no chapel, garden of remembrance or place for mourners to gather.

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If approved the development would create 12 full time and four part time jobs, and carry out around four cremations a day.

The “catchment area” for the crematorium would be Bradford and Leeds.

A planning statement with the application says Bradford Council officers had been “fairly supportive” of the proposals at the pre-application stage.

Describing how the building would be used, the application says: “The visitors will be predominantly funeral directors and the business owners.

“Staff would be on site 24 hours of the day to ensure security. The deceased bodies would be in a secure location within the building.

“The service will operate in a similar way to a burial - where a memorial service with mourners is held off site at a church and a body is transported to the graveyard.

“The proposed sesrvice will involve mourners attending a private chapel in the catchment area and once the funeral/memorial service has been completed the coffin will be transported to the private cremator.

“There will be no members of the public visiting the cremator.”

It adds: “The operator offers low cost funeral services and due to the current economic climate and knock on effects from the pandemic, with many jobs lost through the country, this will be a well used service with opportunities for future expansion.

“The economic benefits are therefore a positive element of the current planning application.”

Referring to the fact that the site is classed as industrial land, the application adds: “The proposed use will include industrial processes that fall under the definition of industrial uses and the sensitivity of the process involved will be respected to the highest possible standards.”

A decision on the application is expected on October.

Bradford Council is in the process of either upgrading or replacing its crematoria. Work is underway to refurbish the Oakworth Crematorium.

Nab Wood Crematorium will be replaced with a new facility off Long Lane in Heaton.

And Scholemoor Crematorium will be replaced with a new facility at Shetcliffe Lane in Bierley.