Inverclyde Council has announced that a major £1.6 million programme of upgrade works at Greenock Crematorium will get underway on Friday 7 October.

The project also includes an extension to the building and other associated upgrades.

To allow for the work to take place, the crematorium will be closed for cremations on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays, with no cremations taking place on these days until further notice.

Services will still take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, although there will be a maximum number that can take place each day.

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Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council's convener of environment and regeneration, said: "The current cremators were installed 26 years ago and now need replaced. The new cremators will also be kinder to the environment by using less energy.

"This is a vital project to make much-needed improvements to the crematorium with a huge investment from the council.

"It is inevitable with such large-scale projects that there will unfortunately be some disruption. However, our staff have been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to minimise the impact as much as possible.

"I'd like to thank funeral directors, arrangers, clergy and, of course, our bereaved families for their patience and understanding while these important works take place."

The existing cremators were installed in 1996 and now require to be replaced with new ones, which will also be kinder to the environment.

The council has contacted funeral directors, arrangers and clergy to make them aware of the arrangements during the works.