A PIONEERING ‘state-of-the-art’ crematorium fuelled by almost100 per cent green electricity is set to open its doors in Oxfordshire.

Final touches are already underway for North Oxfordshire Crematorium and Memorial Park, which will use the UK’s very first green electric cremator.

Located off the A4260 near Tackley, the crematorium will provide a ‘much needed and more accessible service’ for Kidlington, Bicester, Witney and north Oxford.

Set to open on Monday, October 19, the site will feature a brand-new state-of-the-art chapel with seating for more than 130 people.

It will also offer web casting, mood lighting, visual tributes and even a choice from thousands of songs.

One-hour service times will be available to bereaved families as standard.

However, they will have the option to have an extended visit in the adjacent Churchill Pavilion.

With the option of various drinks like tea, coffee, or even a glass of Prosecco, opportunites will be provided for the congregation to offer their condolences to the family in person in comfortable surroundings.

Speaking about what will distinguish this service from other facilities, business development director Jamieson Hodgson said the site would provide families with a range of choices on how to respectably say goodbye to a loved one.

He explained: “North Oxfordshire Memorial Park will be introducing significant new innovations to respond to the latest requirements that families are requesting.

“The modern funeral is all about providing the bereaved ones with a choice – whether that means a direct cremation or a two-hour celebration of life.”

Mr Hodgson also added that it is this attention to detail which will ensure that all families will be able to remember their loved one in the way that suits them best.

ALSO READ: Armed police rush to blaze in truck carrying 'live ammunition'

The development near Bicester will also benefit from the UK’s first state of the art electric cremator, which will be powered by renewable energy resources.

This means that it will produce 95 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions than the usual gas cremator.

The memorial park will also offer natural burial options.

Explaining the latest ‘trends’ in burial services the director commented: “There is an increasing importance for crematoria to be greener.

ALSO READ: John Lewis scraps staff bonus for first time since 1953

“This facility will offer the first new-age electric cremator and reduce emissions by 95 per cent.

“We are very proud to be the first operator across the country to bring this major innovation to the market.”

The new park will be operated by Memoria Ltd – a business that holds ten other crematoria sites across the UK.

Based in Bicester since 2003, this will be Memoria’s second new-build park in the county after launching South Oxfordshire Memorial Park near Abingdon in 2015.

The company was established in 2003 and is the third largest private operator of memorial parks and crematoria in the UK.

To find out more information about North Oxfordshire Crematorium and Memorial Park visit www.memoria.org.uk