Work is due to begin this week on a £2.5million expansion of Weston Crematorium, three years after planning permission was submitted.

The project to extend the burial grounds and memorial gardens in Worle will begin on Monday.

A five-acre extension to the cemetery, in Ebdon Road, will be delivered by Dignity, who operate the site on behalf of North Somerset Council and is scheduled to be completed by the middle of next summer.

The internment of ashes will be available as soon as the project is completed, however for burials the ground will need to settle due to the large amount of earth being transported and spread over the site.

Once settled this will enable people to have a wider choice of the plot for burials.

Cllr Peter Bryant, the council’s executive member responsible for the service, said: “This project is a major milestone in ensuring burials and the internment of ashes can continue at Weston Crematorium, a service it has provided in the community since it opened in 1966.

“The council has confidence in Dignity to approach the project and the access route to the site in a professional and responsible manner.

“Like many areas across the UK, cemeteries in North Somerset are close to capacity or no longer have space for any further burials, but this project will benefit thousands of families by providing both graves and memorial gardens for the next 50 years.”

Research from the Office of National Statistics found the death rate has started to increase and will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.

Additional car park spaces will be developed for visitors who are part of large congregations, helping to remove congestion in the roads surrounding the crematorium.

Steve Gant, crematoria director for Dignity, said: “Extending this important place of remembrance will provide people with a single site cemetery, making good use of existing facilities and providing burial space for generations to come.

“We will be working very closely with the developers throughout the project to ensure every aspect is undertaken to a high professional standard.”

Dignity has funeral homes and crematoria in towns and cities across the UK.