A local, family-run service
Hooton Paddocks was formed so that the bereaved families of this area could have a crematorium of their own to meet today’s expectations, easily accessible and free from the congestion and pressures that blight existing crematoria.
"We want to create a beautiful place, sympathetically designed within natural surroundings, able to offer somewhere peaceful and personal for each individual funeral."
Unrivalled Experience
A national reputation with a local commitment.
Independent & Family run
One of a kind rather than one of a group.
Location
After a 20 year search we have found land with existing development in order to meet the need for a new crematorium.
Unrivalled experience
We have been working on this this mission for two decades and whilst Hooton Paddocks is a new company, our Managing Director, Richard Evans, has unrivalled experience in providing high quality, sensitively designed new crematoria for communities across the country as well as unrivalled knowledge of this area; born and raised nearby, and a pupil of Helsby school.
Richard first tried to improve matters back in 2006 with an application for a new crematorium at Waterworks Lane, Hooton. The application was refused on appeal with little weight given to the welfare of the bereaved. Numerous appeals since then, in other parts of the country, have been more sympathetic to the needs of bereaved families. The need has also grown with the nearest crematoria, Landican and Blacon, facing even greater pressures now than fifteen years ago.
An independent Family run service
Richard has continued to search for the right site alongside his brother James who also worked on the original campaign at Waterworks Lane. Together they believe that this is the right time and the right spot to finally provide a local, accessible crematorium capable of holding dignified funerals. They are also committed to running an independent, local service free of the pressures of Private Equity Investment. Fees will remain fair and all local Funeral Directors, big and small, will have a genuine influence. This will be one of a kind rather than one of a group.
"We offer a new & more enlightened way to remember and celebrate a person’s life"
We believe that there is no greater need for a crematorium in this country.
Landican is set to become the busiest crematorium in the country holding just under 3200 cremations a year in a cemetery complex designed almost a century ago. Blacon is a modern facility but is also operating beyond its capacity with close to 2000 funerals, cremations and burials, held in its single chapel each year.
Since the last appeal, both crematoria have had to respond to the need for longer funerals, offering more time per service than back in 2008. This means that there is less availability with longer delays, typically 3-4 weeks at the busiest times, in being able to organise a funeral.
These pressures will only grow over the next 20 years as the numbers of deaths rise, forecast by the ONS to be over 30% for this area, due to the aged population.
“A new crematorium would finally allow families to have a local, less busy choice of their own with a minimum of an hour allowed for each service. Overall, the new service is expected to look after 1022 cremations a year, four per day on average, providing a much quieter and peaceful setting.”
20 year site search
Since the last appeal, numerous brownfield sites have been considered over a wide area to avoid greenfield development in the Green Belt. None were ultimately suitable until the search eventually found land with existing development on School Lane, Hooton. The plan is to replace the existing residential property and stable block with a sympathetically designed, carefully proportioned crematorium.
The proposals would lead to just over 200m2 of extra development; far less than the scheme put forward by Horizon Cremation Ltd on greenfield land at Hooton Road, which proposes 593m2 of new building plus an upstairs office block.
The site is also more secluded and away from the built up areas on Hooton Road.
Environment
We would use the very best available filtration technology and be one of the first crematoria to fit NOx (nitrous oxide) abatement to ensure that our service would be “clean to air”. Heat from the cremation process will also be used to heat the building. Ultimately the new service will be carbon neutral.
The emphasis of our plans is to transform the existing grazed paddocks and scrubland into a beautiful natural setting for funerals, blessed with extra trees, plants, flowers and hedgerow. Just 10% of the site is planned to be developed with the rest left as a green landscape to ensure that it is a place of peace and remembrance, free of the pressure and congestion of historic crematoria. It will also lead to a bio-diversity net gain of 70.25% offering an abundance of rich habitat to local wildlife.
Design
Our proposals are for a sensitive, sympathetic design of a smaller scale than the one put forward by Horizon. It is single storey, just under 500m2 in size and designed to match the local character with the use of red brick alongside handmade plain tiles and timber cladding. This should help it sit comfortably in the existing landscape and be respectful of its position within the countryside.
More details can be seen on the accompanying leaflet and plans.
Access and Highways
Almost all funerals take place in the middle of the day, outside of peak traffic with typically 19 cars attending each funeral, resulting in an average of 76 cars visiting the site each day.
All in-bound traffic would be directed off Hooton Road onto School Lane which, we suggest, would become one-way. Vehicles leaving the premises would be routed onto Welsh Road to prevent a return trip onto Hooton Road. This would create a seamless, circular flow to and from the crematorium that should ensure that residents see 50% less funeral traffic on Hooton Road than the alternative scheme. It will also stop traffic heading back onto Hooton Road from the poor visibility of the School Lane junction.
Consultation Document
Your comments are important
A public exhibition will be held on Thursday 27th January from 12- 7.30 pm at The Woodcote Hotel, Hooton Road. Please come along to see our proposals in more detail, ask any questions, and let us know your thoughts. You can also submit them using the form opposite on this website.
For further information, please download the Consultation document below.
Download Consultation Document
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