Mepal Crem scheme hangs in the balance amid hidden rising costs
The council initially thought that £9.06m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding would be enough to see the project completed
East Cambridgeshire District Council may be forced to cut back on the £9m construction cost of its Mepal Crematorium project, which is expected to be finished in 2026, after the council were made aware of hidden rising costs last Thursday (26 September).
As a result, the council fears it may need to obtain millions of pounds more to complete the facility, which “must start” by late October 2025.
The council initially thought that £9.06m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding would be enough to see the project completed, but it was revealed that figure was an underestimation.
Based on the site of a former outdoor centre, Mepal Crematorium is expected to cover the 32-acre site of the former Mepal Outdoor Centre, which was targeted by vandals and destroyed in an arson attack four years ago.
According to the crematorium’s director of operations, Isabel Edgar, the internal team overseeing the project are considering options “to either mitigate costs or reduce the overall build cost”.
The options identified are to either reduce the scope of the project, phase some building works, find additional grant funding for green infrastructure elements, seek value engineering where possible or identify additional council funding sources.
It is understood that construction must start by late October 2025 or the planning permission for the facility will expire. If work is able to start as expected, Edgar estimates that the crematorium will be completed by July 2026.
Isabel Edgar said: “The cost plan is based on the design and technical inputs we have had this July and it’s important to note that this is still only a financial model as the design and build has not yet been opened up to a competitive market.
“The implication of the draft cost plan is that it has identified a cost pressure above the amount originally approved by council.”
The council is currently grappling with an uplift in costs due to inflation, as well as a rise in build costs following input from the technical design team and an update to professional fees to take the project to the final stage.