Westerleigh to expand immersive funeral tech to two more crems

Westerleigh Group has announced fresh plans to install immersive audio-visual technology at two more of its crematoria, expanding a project it began last year in Nottinghamshire.

Vale Royal Crematorium in Cheshire and Sedgemoor Crematorium in Somerset will be refurbished this autumn, with the new facilities due to be in use from 26 November and 16 December respectively.

The upgrades include external welcome screens displaying service details, waiting rooms fitted with digital gallery walls for up to 25 photographs, and chapel systems projecting themed visuals onto the front wall accompanied by soundscapes and lighting.

The technology was developed in partnership with Obitus, an audio-visual provider to the bereavement sector. It was first introduced in September 2024 at Gedling Crematorium in Nottinghamshire, which Westerleigh described at the time as a world-first.

Debbie Smith, chief executive of Westerleigh Group, said: “Within a short time of it being unveiled in Gedling Crematorium, 99% of families who held funerals there chose to include the technology within their services.

“We knew we had something special and committed to invest to make it more widely available, which is exactly what we are doing.”

She added: “This amazing technology enables families to personalise a funeral to an unprecedented level, to truly reflect the individuality, interests and passions of the person being remembered.”

Westerleigh said five of its sites will have been upgraded by the end of this year. The group owns 42 crematoria and cemeteries across England, Scotland and Wales.