Henley Road Cemetery Works Commence
Henley Road Cemetery
Work Begins at Cemetery to Provide Modern New Office and Waiting Room at the Henley Road Cemetery.
The new cemetery building will deliver office accommodation, a waiting room, sales suite and new public toilets, as well as a strong room which will hold all of Reading’s birth, death and marriage records since 1837.
Council contractors, BEARD Construction, will begin work today (Wednesday 23rd May) on the site of the old public toilet block, close to the cemetery entrance. The aim is to complete the work by the end of November 2018.
Yeomanry House
The current offices and waiting room space at the cemetery are no longer fit for purpose and the closure of Yeomanry House at the end of 2018 necessitates the creation of a new strong room.
Cllr Sarah Hacker, Reading’s Lead Member for Consumer Services, said:
“This work represents a significant investment for the Registration and Bereavement service. The existing cemetery office is far too small and doesn’t provide an adequate service to customers or a satisfactory working environment for staff. The purpose built building will offer significantly improved customer service, including a welcoming waiting room and modern public toilets. It will provide a more appropriate environment for customers who are often recently bereaved.”
“I’m pleased the work to modernise our facilities at the cemetery has started and look forward to seeing the new building the end of the year. We are working hard with the contractors to minimise disruption to the service’s daily operations and all local funeral directors and residents have been kept in the loop about the impending work.”
Reading Town Hall
This work is part of a wider review of how the Council is making the best possible use of its buildings, which includes the decision to close Yeomanry House and relocate the Council’s register office to Reading Town Hall at the end of the year.
The current strong room at Yeomanry House, which holds extensive public records and paper certification documents, has run out of space and necessitates a site with very specific requirements, all of which can be accommodated at the new purpose built cemetery location.
There is a notice on the toilet block to say it will be closed from Wednesday 23rd of May in preparation for its demolition.
