GRIEVING families that use Canley Crematorium to say a final farewell to loved ones will have to wait until August before ongoing repair works are completed.
The project, which has taken nearly four years to complete, involves replacing cremators and building new ones that comply with government guidelines.
But it has meant families are restricted access to view the charging of the coffin because the area is currently under construction.
The restricted use of the crematorium has resulted in many people using services in Nuneaton and Leamington.
A petition carrying 270 signatures, most of Hindu and Sikh faith, was handed in to Coventry City Council at a city services cabinet meeting last week to see if work could be completed earlier.
Sandra Turner, bereavement services manager, said: “We can update people in the community if there are any delays. We can’t guarantee it will be done on time in case anything goes wrong but that’s the same for any project.
“This is a big project. The roof of the crematorium has to be re-lined with steel for the new filtration system to go in.
“There is an awful lot of equipment to install. We’ve had to re-configure the whole building.
“When we applied for funding in 2006, there were other major projects across the city and we couldn’t have all the funding in one go.
“This has meant we’ve been receiving the money slowly over the past few years.
“We aim to get work completed by August, but we never know about setbacks that could occur.
“For instance, work stopped while we had heavy snowfall.”
Three of five phases have been completed, which involved modifying the existing cremators with electrical wiring, a new sub station and replacing gas pipes.
Two more cremators will be completed by May with high-level floors, emergency exits, and a new filtration system. Work is expected to finish in August.
Councillor Sucha Bains (Lab, Upper Stoke) and Councillor Malkiat Auluck (Lab, Foleshill) had been campaigning on behalf of the petition-signers. They said people are very upset that work has taken so long and were hoping it could be completed sooner.
Cllr Bains added: “The Hindu and Sikh families want to see the body cremated before they go to the temple to do their prayers.
“It should be done on the same day. They need to know their loved ones are at peace.”
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