Northern Ireland's second-ever crematorium to be finished by this summer as Roselawn struggles to keep pace with demand

Asked if it will be open to Antrim and Newtownabbey residents only, the local borough council – which is building the crematorium – says it "will be available to anyone".

The council has pressed ahead with the facility at Ballyearl based on assurances from the Department for Communities that it is indeed legal to run the crematorium.

The law on crematoria in Northern Ireland has long been a source of great confusion.

Just one crematorium currently exists in Northern Ireland, and it has long struggled to keep up with demand as a result.

The council-run Roselawn crematorium in south-east Belfast was originally built in 1961, designed for an estimated 700 cremations per year.

But by 2021 was handling more than 3,500 (which, assuming the crematorium was running every single day of the year, would amount to an average of 9.6 per day).

The Belfast Corporation (General Powers) Act 1948 extended the powers of what was then the Belfast Corporation - later called the council - to include the running of crematoria.

Stormont's health minister in 1961 then drew up a bunch of rules for how cremations were to take place, in which Belfast council was the only named "cremation authority".

A 1985 act of parliament then said that "a council may provide and maintain a crematorium".

However, The Cremation Society of the UK says that "until further legislative changes are introduced in Northern Ireland, the only recognised 'Cremation Authority' under the 1961 Regulations is Belfast City Council".

The uncertainty was highlighted last week when a prospective private crematorium operator argued before the High Court that, instead of simplifying matters, the way the 1985 act is worded just added another layer of confusion.

Whilst it purported to help expand their existence, the act in fact only "served to hinder the development of crematoria in this jurisdiction" he said, evidenced by the fact that 37 years after it was passed "there still is only one crematorium in Northern Ireland".

••• COUNCIL CONFIDENT OF NO LEGAL CHALLENGE •••

Asked how it can be sure it will not run afoul of the law in opening the crematorium, Antrim and Newtownabbey council said "the Department for Communities confirmed to the council that under the current legislation all councils can provide and maintain a crematorium".

It added that "the building of the crematorium is well underway and will be completed for opening in early summer" (it was originally meant to be finished by the end of 2022).

And the department told the News Letter that the 1985 act means "any district council in Northern Ireland is permitted to provide and maintain a crematorium".

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council has had planning approval since 2020 for a crematorium in the Omagh area, but no building work has been done.

Planning permission had been granted for a crematorium in the Lisburn Road outside Moira, with the intention that it be privately operated.

While a plot of land has been cleared in the area, it is not clear how advanced the plans are.

Meanwhile Roselawn itself has been planning a major expansion for years, creating two chapels to replace the current one.

The latest news on this front is that council plans to commence building work this autumn (assuming planning consent is given), with a view to completing it by winter 2024.

According to Queen's University Belfast law professor Heather Conway (who specialises in bodily disposal laws), the cremation rate in Northern Ireland is just under 22%.

This is very slightly higher than the Republic (a hair over 21%) but way behind the UK rate as a whole, which stands at 78%.

MORE FROM THIS REPORTER:

• PUP on Protocol: If we knew in 1994 what we know today about the Good Friday Agreement we would never have had UVF ceasefire

• Northern Ireland Protocol: Jamie Bryson says Supreme Court judgement will fuel 'anger and resistance' as he speaks of protests on anniversary of Good Friday Agreement