PLANNING PERMISSION IS being sought to convert a former Tayto factory in Dublin into a first of its kind crematorium.

T. Stafford and Sons have lodged the application that would see the former factory on the Greencastle Road in Coolock, Dublin 17, refurbished so that it can accommodate an electric cremator inside an already approved funeral home.

A funeral home, coffee shop, and motor sales and service outlet have already been approved for the site.

The Planning report says the energy for the electric cremator will be supplied by renewable energy sources and that it will be “the first cremator of this type in Ireland”.

The report adds that it will be carbon neutral and that this type of cremator is “less environmentally harmful and more energy-efficient than the typical gas-fired cremator used throughout the country”.

The former Tayto factory, which was constructed in 1987, is still in situ but is in a “very poor state” due to vandalism since its closure in 2005.

The site is located within the Malahide Road Industrial Estate.

The works would involve the refurbishment of an existing steel open frame structure to the rear of the building, and this refurbished structure will accommodate the electric cremator.

This steel structure was previously approved for demolition under a previous application.

The Planning Report adds that “there is need for more crematoria in the area” and that it “would be considered a positive contribution to economic development”.

It also notes a need to provide alternatives to traditional burials in cemeteries.

“Cremation rates have risen significantly since 2010,” says the Planning Report, “when they accounted for 11% of the population, and are expected to reach 30% by 2030.”