Central Bedfordshire crematorium wins major award
Oakfield Gardens Crematorium has been named Crematorium of the Year in the Good Funeral Awards 2025.
Based in Steppingley, Oakfield Gardens is owned and operated by Central Bedfordshire Council.
The awards, which recognise innovation, sustainability and excellence, judged Oakfield Gardens Crematorium as the Crematorium of the Year 2025 with ‘every aspect of the facility leading the way in sustainability’.
The judges were impressed with the innovative crematorium design, which uses solar technology, harnesses waste heat for energy and reuses rainwater.
Work on the £10.5m project started in 2023 when Central Bedfordshire Council asked contractor SMD to help create the first crematorium in the Central Bedfordshire area.
The facility is located on a 25-acre site featuring mature oak trees with a reflective water feature at the heart of the scheme.
The project included construction of a 120-seat service hall, offices, ancillary facilities and gardens of remembrance.
Extensive hard and soft landscaping was a major element of the scheme along with provision of a rose garden and lake.
Sustainability was embedded at every stage of the project with solar arrays and heat exchangers installed to reuse waste heat generated from the cremator for heating the building.
Kelvin Taylor, crematorium manager, said: “Our crematorium is amazing - it’s such high quality that many people are surprised it’s a council facility. “Every member of the SMD team and their subcontractors were really helpful and proactive and very nice people to work with. I know the council is really happy with it - I’ve heard so many positive comments from colleagues.”
Helen Konstantinidi, who worked closely with the team at CBC, said: “We knew this was a special place and it’s truly breathtaking. SMD absolutely delivered and the architect was delighted that SMD shared their vision for the quality of the project.
“The whole workforce had that same vision, and on each visit to the site, everyone from the site workers to the management were working towards the same high-quality space, you could see they understood the nature of the project and wanted to give their best work. It felt very special.”
The crematorium has also been recognised as Finalist National Building and Construction Awards, ‘Project of the Year £10m-£25m’ category – in recognition of the project’s thoughtful design, environmental sensitivity, and community focus and as Finalist London Construction Awards Excellence in Sustainability – ‘Project’ category.
The grounds provide not just space for mourners, but footpaths are available for community use and as part of SMD’s social value activities, the company contributed a commemorative plaque and donated acer trees to the memorial garden.