Westerleigh to introduce experiential offering at second site

Westerleigh Group’s Basildon and District Cemetery and Crematorium will be its second site to be transformed into an experiential funeral venue. 

Work is set to start soon that will see the Riverview Chapel undergo the installation of the “state-of-the-art” technology needed to create canvas projections. 

According to the business, the new offering at Basildon Crematorium will allow families to personalise services to “an unprecedented level to truly reflect the individuality, interests and passions of the person being remembered”.

In the waiting room, families will also have an option to display 25 digital photos of their loved one on a gallery wall and in time, they will be able to choose to have their loved one’s image displayed on the chapel’s welcome screens.

The announcement comes after Westerleigh Group launched its first experiential funeral venue last November at its crematorium in Gedling, Nottinghamshire. 

The new offering is the result of a partnership between Westerleigh and the audio-visual provider to the bereavement industry, Obitus. 

Adam Mayers, manager of Basildon and District Cemetery and Crematorium, said: “We are thrilled to be able to offer our communities the chance to make their final farewells to their loved ones more uniquely personal than ever before.

“Since this service was launched in Gedling, we know that 99% of families who have held funerals there have chosen to have a Canvas wall, or elements of it, included within their services.”

He added: “The feedback Gedling Crematorium has received has been very positive, with those who have seen it saying that it added a truly personal touch to the funeral; the first reaction of many who have seen it is to say the word ‘wow’.

“The technology offers the chance to make funerals even more personal and meaningful than ever.”