ACCRINGTON Crematorium will be refurbished after the council agreed to fund work totalling almost £20,000.

Councillors gave the go-ahead to spend £17,000 upgrading the inside of the Burnley Road site as part of this year’s capital expenditure programme, budget documents revealed.

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Work is expected to include upgrading the chapel and extending a section of roadway.

New seating and carpets will be installed, and the crematorium will be repainted, the council said.

Parks boss Cllr Ken Moss said: “We are continually investing money into the crematorium and its grounds, such as refurbishing the chapel and the forthcoming extension of a section of roadway.

“We have recently launched the service for ashes to be buried and this has proven very popular, plus we also offer a tree graves option which has resulted in several burials in a different style.

“Overall, our pricing and services are of an excellent standard and I am proud of all our cemeteries staff.”

The crematorium has held more than 46,000 cremations since 1956.

Past increases in the price of services, including a 250 per cent hike in the cost of scattering ashes two years ago, were labelled a ‘death tax’ by critics, although the services remained cheaper than in Blackburn and Burnley.

Cllr Moss’ predecessor Ciaran Wells, who stepped down from the council to concentrate on a career in law last year, previously told the Lancashire Telegraph the two furnaces at the crematorium were set to be replaced between 2016 and 2017.

The cremators were installed in 1995 and will cost around £1million to replace.

The announcement came after a series of breakdowns, although no services were affected.

Opposition leader Cllr Peter Britcliffe said: “The council should not be waiting for the cremators to break down. They should be replacing them gradually.

“It’s something they will have been aware of for some time. The sooner the council can replace the cremators, the better, because it will be more economical for the taxpayer.”