Final preparations are underway for a major refurbishment of Worcester Crematorium, which will see new electric cremators installed at the Astwood Road site.

The work begins on Monday 4 August and will last until summer 2026. During that time, funeral services will be held at the KGV Hub in Ash Avenue, off Brickfields Road, seven minutes’ walk from the Crematorium.

The grounds of Astwood Cemetery will be open as normal throughout the refurbishment, with visitors having full access to the graves of their loved ones and the majority of the memorials at the site.

The Book of Remembrance has already been moved to a temporary new home in The Guildhall’s Green Room, where it can be visited Monday-Saturday during the building’s normal opening hours. No appointment is necessary. View details of the Guildhall opening hours.

Councillor Lynn Denham, Leader of Worcester City Council, said:

“Refurbishing Worcester’s much-loved Crematorium is obviously a very sensitive piece of work and we are committed to carrying out this essential project with respect for the many people who have a connection with the Crematorium itself and with Astwood Cemetery.

“At the same time, we are also working to keep the impact of this work on people living in the area to a minimum. We will be giving local residents regular updates on how the project is progressing and alerting them when any disruption is expected.”

The first phase of the work, running 4-15 August, will see National Grid installing an upgraded power supply at the entrance to the cemetery. As part of this, four-way traffic lights will be put in place at the Astwood Road roundabout and traffic will be one-way only along Brickfields Road, between the junction with Blackpole Road and the roundabout. A diversion will be in place, along the northern part of Astwood Road, Bilford Road and the southern part of Blackpole Road.

The City Council is sending a letter with details of the work to all the homes on the diversion route.

Also from Monday 4 August, the KGV Hub will become the temporary venue for funeral services, for the duration of the works at Astwood Crematorium. Up to four services will be held each day, Monday-Friday.

After a service, cremations will be carried out at Redditch Crematorium. The ashes will be returned to the KGV Hub for collection, unless the family has made alternative arrangements with their funeral director.

With the Astwood Cemetery grounds remaining open, burials will continue as normal, both there and at St John’s Cemetery. It will also still be possible to scatter ashes in Astwood Cemetery’s garden of remembrance.

The key features of the Astwood Crematorium refurbishment are:

  • Two new electric cremators installed to replace the current three gas-powered ones
  • Refurbishment of the chapel, with new furniture, fittings and equipment
  • A new chapel garden, with a Japanese theme
  • An extension to the window area that looks out from the chapel to that garden, bringing in more natural light and making the new garden more of a focal point
  • Landscaping improvements to boost biodiversity at the cemetery grounds
  • A heat recovery system, to make the building as energy-efficient as possible
  • A new thermally-improved roof for the entire building
  • Electric charging points in two parking bays
  • Photovoltaic solar panels on the new roof, to further improve the building’s efficiency
  • Associated structural enabling work to support the installation of the new cremators.

The refurbishment project is receiving a £1.49 million grant awarded through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. This supports energy-efficiency projects, and is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix.