Former Chairperson Councillor R Turner offered his thanks for the support from members and officers during his time as Chairperson

RESOLVED: That Councillor R Young be appointed Chairperson of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee for the ensuing year

RESOLVED: That Councillor G John be appointed Vice-Chairperson of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee for the ensuing year

To receive apologies for absence from Members.

Cllr Elaine Venables, Cllr Richard Young

In the absence of Cllr Richard Young, Cllr Gwyn John took the Chair

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1st September 2009.

Councillor J Spanswick declared a personal interest in agenda item 3 – Flower Court Facilities, as he was a member of Development Control Committee.

To receive for approval the Minutes of 08/03/2019

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting of the 08/03/2019 be approved as a true and accurate record.

The Accountant presented the report of the Treasurer on the unaudited Annual Accounting Statement following closure of the accounts for the financial year 2018-2019 to the joint committee, and sought approval to submit the statement for Coychurch Crematorium to the Wales Audit Office. 

She explained that they had an expected surplus for this year of around £300,000 but section 1 of the annual Accounting Statement at Appendix 1 of the report showed that the surplus was £496,738 and that this was mainly as a result of the delays in Capital Spending and an increase in the income over the amount originally budgeted. She  explained that this surplus would be  added to the accumulated reserve resulting in a new balance of £1,755,451.

The Accountant referred Members to Appendix 1 of the report which detailed the statement of income and expenditure for the year ending March 2019 and how it compared with the previous year.

She also explained the statement of balances which outlined the current balance for various areas and how it compared with the previous year.

She also briefly outlined the Annual Governance Statement, Committee Approval and Certification, Auditor General for Wales’ Audit Certificate and Report and the Annual Internal Audit report to Coychurch Crematorium.

The Accountant requested the signature of the Chairperson on approval of the recommendations.

RESOLVED: That the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee:

(1)  approved the Annual Accounting Statement for Coychurch Crematorium for 2018-2019(Appendix A) and,

(2)  Obtained a signature from the Chairperson prior to submission to the Wales Audit Office.

The Clerk and Technical Officer presented a report which advised the Joint Committee on the performance of Coychurch Crematorium during 2018/2019.

He explained that Appendix A of the report detailed the number of cremations that Bridgend has performed over the year in comparison to other local authorities which showed that Bridgend performed over 62% of the total cremations.

The Clerk and Technical Officer advised that for 2018/2019, the overall satisfaction level of customers remained at 100% to a good or excellent standard. He further explained the breakdown of figures listed in the report and explained that while there are mixed ratings relating to the availability of service times, this was often not related to the Crematorium itself but the availability of the funeral directors and other staff that may work in other areas too. He also explained that there are increases and decreases in service requirements all throughout the year, therefore winter months are busier and thus be less availability.

A Member asked if the Crematorium were able to run 2 services at one time

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar explained that they had the capacity to do so but it was not something that was offered. She explained that as there was only one chapel team it was not suitable to do so. She also explained that they felt there were no issues with timeframes of booking so did not believe it was necessary to do this.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar also explained that on average, the waiting times were not more than 2 weeks. She advised that other crematoriums have had waiting times of 1 month or more so they did not believe Coychurch Crematorium was disadvantaged in any way with regards to waiting times.

RESOLVED: That the Joint Committee noted the report. 

At the request of the Chairperson, the Joint Committee agreed to consider this item prior to the item on the Annual Accounting Statement 2018-19.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar presented a report which updated the Joint Committee on the provision of an extension to the flower court facility at Coychurch Crematorium and sought approval for the design.

She provided background on the Crematorium to the Joint Committee and stated that as the building was Grade 2 listed, careful consideration should be given to any proposed alterations. She also provided further background to the Flower Court Facilities which was detailed at section 3 of the report.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar advised Members of the current situation as outlined in section 4 of the report. She advised Members that the architect, Mr Jonathan Adams was in attendance today to present his design to the Joint Committee for approval.

Mr Adams took Members through the presentation. He showed picture of the Crematorium when it first opened and pointed out the flower courts (dispersal cloister). He explained that the current design was outdated and no longer suitable for the majority of services.

Mr Adams explained that the original columns that were in place are 15x15 feet apart which they were looking to continue across the garden and showed Members Computer Generated designs of what it would look like.

Mr Adams explained the materials that would be used for the construction of the walls, flooring and arch construction. This was further detailed in the presentation.

Mr Adams showed Members an Architectural Animation, which was a short video displaying what the completed construction would look like.

A Member asked what was the lifespan expected for the materials used and what maintenance was involved.

Mr Adams explained that the type of wood that would be used had a very long life span. It would be expected to last a minimum of 25 years under extreme weather but would normally last 50 years.

A Member asked if cleaning would deteriorate any of the materials

Mr Adams explained that, as with weather conditions, regular cleaning would not affect the materials in any way.

A Member asked if there would be any uplift on the roof from the wind

Mr Adams explained that this was factored in with the design so they did not expect this to be an issue.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar advised Members that professionals would be involved at every stage to ensure that all aspects of the design and development are thoroughly thought out.

A Member asked about what timescales they are working towards and when they hoped to complete the construction.

Mr Adams explained that there are some time consuming tasks to go through before construction can begin but they aimed to finish construction by the end of 2020.

RESOLVED: That the Joint Committee ;

(1)  approved the proposed design of the extension to the Flower Court Facility

authorised the technical officer to seek planning permission and invite tenders in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

None