Cost increase for unwanted Mepal crematorium 'noted'

East Cambs council officers now predict an ‘overall increase in costs’ for the planned crematorium at Mepal, according to reports presented to the district council’s Finance & Assets Committee (26 September).

But an attempt by Liberal Democrats on the committee to refer the cost rises to a Full Council meeting next month was rejected by a block vote of Conservative councillors.

The detail of the increased costs was kept in a confidential report, but published papers state that the rise is ‘largely made up of a gap in the projects contingency budget and an increase in build costs’.

The escalating costs for the crematorium, already predicted to cost over £9 million, have ‘substantial implications for the project’, said Cllrs Lorna Dupré and Alison Whelan, who proposed a motion to refer the matter to all twenty-eight councillors at their next full meeting on 17 October.

“It’s not appropriate simply to sit here and ‘note’ these increases while further work is being undertaken and further costs are being incurred without this coming back to the full council for consideration of the new information we now have,” Cllr Dupré told the meeting. 

“We need to ensure that every member of the council is fully informed,” added Cllr Whelan, “and is able to have that debate about where the project actually is.”

Cllr Charlotte Cane MP pointed out that the tight timescale and restricted times of year for working on a biodiverse site would also lead to cost increases. Changing the scheme to keep it within the budget would not deliver the project the council had approved.

The proposal to refer the matter to Full Council was defeated by five (Lib Dem) votes to six (Conservative).