By Kit Sandeman, Local Democracy Reporter
A new pet crematorium in Nottinghamshire has been approved by Gedling Borough Council meaning those who lose their pets can have them cremated and keep their ashes.
The council-run service will collect pets from people’s houses and take them away to be cremated before bringing back the ashes.
The crematorium itself will be run from the Jubilee Road council depot and the council is in the process of applying for the special licenses needed.
It will also buy refrigerated vehicles in which to carry the pets.
The cremations will initially be run just for people in Gedling but if it is a success the council hopes to expand to other areas.
The new scheme is believed to be the first such service run by a local authority in the East Midlands.
The leader of the Labour-run council Councillor John Clarke said the service will be ‘dignified and respectful’.
He also called the project ‘innovative’ saying the council was finding new ways to generate income and protect front-line services.
A total of £89,000 is being spent setting the scheme up but the council has predicted it will generate £88,000 in its first full financial year.
The council aims to start the scheme on or before April 1 2019.
Council bosses said market research showed pet ownership is particularly high in the East Midlands.
They said 31 per cent of households own a dog (with an average of 1.5 dogs per dog-owning household) and 20 per cent of households own a cat (with an average of 1.8 cats per cat-owning household).
