GRIEVING families have been told making a crematorium fully operational again will “not be a quick process”, as council bosses work to replace faulty machinery.

Weeley Crematorium, located in Colchester Road, has been unable to properly carry out cremations on site recently due to issues with its cremators.

The facility has been plagued with a variety of issues, including broken pumps, a leaking heat exchanger, and a failed computer drive.

Concerningly, the contractors who have maintained the cremators since installing them in 2015 as part of a £1.4million overhaul have now gone into liquidation.

Read More: Faulty machinery disrupts funerals at Weeley Crematorium

As a result, the authority is now looking to either parachute in other firms to help with the repairs project or use internal employees to carry out the work instead.

A spokesman for Tendring Council, which runs the crematorium, said: “Work is already underway to set up a programme of work to replace or fix the cremator.

“However, due to the potential size of the project, this will not be a quick process and we will not know the cost until we have carried out a full procurement exercise.

“We also need to sought quotes from suppliers, which is a process we are required to follow by law.”

Since the crematorium’s equipment broke down, bodies have had to be cremated at a separate facility, while ceremonies for devastated families have been held in Weeley.

Despite some of the machinery having been temporarily repaired, there has also been some reports of families having to wait weeks at a time before a cremation.

Tendring Council’s spokesman, however, has stressed the waiting time is predominantly a result of social distancing measures and the coronavirus pandemic.

He added: “The crematorium is booked up for a few weeks ahead, but this is only partly due to the recent capacity issues.

“This is also partly because some service times are particularly popular.”

Michael Talbot, Tendring councillor responsible for environment, has apologised to families impacted by the issues at the crematorium.