A number of repairs to address “significant health and safety issues” at Mansfield Crematorium have either been completed or will start next month.
This includes work to repair the mezzanine floor, fix a water leak and stop smoke funnelling into parts of the Derby Road site.
Another project to install new fire doors, remove ducting, and repair and build walls is also expected to begin at the start of March.
Four separate contracts to fix health and safety concerns at the crematorium site were agreed upon in May last year.
In total, the overall repairs were forecast to cost as much as £130,000.
One contract, costing £25,000, required the mezzanine floor to be repaired in the crematory and the yard because of safety concerns over its condition.
This work has since been completed and the floor no longer poses a safety risk to visitors.
A meeting of the Mansfield Crematorium Joint Committee on Monday (February 27) heard other projects to make the site safe have made progress or will begin soon.
One contract included work on the building’s water supply following problems with leaks, water pressure and quality.
This contract, which cost about £30,000, has seen the leak identified and repaired by Severn Trent Water.
However, progress on the installation of a new water pipe has halted as bosses at the site say they need to “understand capacity requirements”.
Once this has been identified, they say works will be carried out “all at once” to reduce costs and disruption.
The contract to install new fire doors, remove ducting, install a partition wall and improve the Thoresby Chapel is expected to start next month.
This contract was worth £35,000 when confirmed in May last year, with the new wall installed to prevent staff from receiving “no protection” from the hot surfaces of cremators.
And the fourth contract, estimated at £40,000, will see refurbishments of vents and flue sections of each cremator in the building.
This came following concerns of cremator flue ways funnelling smoke and fumes into the building.
This work had been on hold while surveys were carried out but the “majority” of this has since taken place, including work on the third cremator in recent days.
Nada Colclough, crematorium and cemeteries manager at Mansfield District Council, provided an update to the committee on Monday.
She said: “The identified water leak has been repaired by Severn Trent but progress has halted on the installation of the new water pipe.
“We need to understand the capacity requirements and we don’t want to have this as a two-stage project because it will increase costs.
“[On] the fire doors, ducting removal and other works, we’re looking at that starting at the beginning of March and we’ve been waiting on the fire doors, which is where the hold-up has been.
“The flu works had been on hold waiting for the suction survey but the majority of the works have now been completed, with cremator three being completed this weekend.
“The mezzanine flooring has been completed.”
Members of the committee, which includes representatives from Mansfield, Ashfield and Newark and Sherwood Councils, noted the progress on the repairs.
No councillors commented specifically on the works but Cllr Andy Burgin (Lab), Mansfield’s cabinet member for environment and leisure, previously described them as “essential”.
Speaking in May last year, he added: “The items all seem to be relating to health and safety issues and we have a duty of care to our staff to ensure they’re working in a safe environment.”
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