Funerals at Burnley Crematorium to be shown on Internet

MOURNERS unable to attend funerals at Burnley Crematorium could soon see them streamed live over the internet.

Burnley would be the first town in the country to show the footage if the plans are approved at a full meeting of Burnley Council next week.

The £25,000 proposals would also see a state-of-the-art music system installed at the Rossendale Road building, to replace the current outdated equipment, and, for larger funerals, friends and relatives could see the service broadcast on a big screen outside.

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Coun. Jeff Sumner, the council’s Executive member responsible for the crematorium, said the move could put Burnley on the map. “The crematorium is an important service and this work will help ensure it continues to provide a high quality of service for bereaved families,” he said.

“We are about £25,000 under budget and we need to spend the money on the crematorium. We’ve had a lot of people saying we could do it better. It might seem a bit strange but it will be up to the bereaved family. I’ve been to many funerals there myself where people have been stood outside. The screen will give people the opportunity to see the service when the crematorium is full.

“If someone dies here but their family lives in America and they can’t get back they could watch the funeral over the internet.”

Coun. Sumner stressed any video footage of funeral services would be password protected and access would need to be approved by the deceased’s family.

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“With technology such as it is these days everything is moving forward and we are moving with the times. We are trying to put Burnley on the map for all the right reasons,” he added.

Council officers have already been given an insight into how the streaming would work. As well as the new sound and video system, improvements to the crematorium could also include the replacement of curtains and other internal improvements and the replacement of traffic-damaged paving at the crematorium entrance.

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