Leeds crematorium chapels to reopen for funeral services next month

All crematoria chapels, including all burial chapels for funeral services at Leeds City Council managed sites, will reopen from Monday 8 June, the local authority has said.
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But the number of mourners inside the chapels will be restricted to ten to ensure social distancing.

Cottingley, Lawnswood and Rawdon Crematoria were closed in the middle of last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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For the past month, families have only been able to attend the crematoria grounds and view the coffin being moved from the hearse into the chapel if they wished.

Rawdon Crematorium.Rawdon Crematorium.
Rawdon Crematorium.

The number of cremations taking place in the city, which while still remaining high, has reduced to a level which mean services can go ahead with steps put in place to protect the health of mourners and council staff.

Services will continue to be a maximum of 40 minutes, as was the case before the Covid-19 lockdown, but the number of chapel funeral services taking place throughout the day will be reduced from 11 to nine to ensure cleaning can take place.

The council will also be able to offer direct cremations along the same lines.

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Toilets and hand washing facilities and hand sanitiser will be available at each of the crematoria.

Extra efforts to ensure services do not overlap will be made with funeral directors.

Bereavement services fees and charges will remain at 2019 prices until further notice.

The council also said that, due to places of worship being closed, there had been a significant increase in the length of graveside committals, with many services taking over an hour.

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The average time before coronavirus restrictions was less than 15 minutes.

This has had an impact on other mourners and services, with council grave digging teams sometimes unable to backfill in time ready for the next committal.

The authority is asking clergy and officiants to ensure that these do no take longer than 15 minutes and that no more than 10 mourners attend the graveside.

The council is considering introducing an over run late service fee to stop this happening.

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Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and active lifestyles, said: “I am pleased to announce the reopening of our chapel areas across the council’s managed crematoria and cemeteries.

"In order to ensure that our funeral services can continue to operate safely, some measures will however need to remain in place as part of ongoing efforts to manage the impact and potential spread of coronavirus.

“I would also like to thank our residents and communities for their continued patience and understanding during these unprecedented times.

"We fully recognise that the changes we made may have had an impact on some services for families of loved ones and we apologise for any discomfort or distress this has caused.”

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Government rules still state that only the following people may attend a funeral service:

- a member of the deceased persons household

- a close family member, or

- if there is no relative then a close family friend may attend