Dundee is set to open a new cemetery after the council spent years trying to find a suitable site.
The council’s development management committee will next week consider a report recommending the proposed graveyard at Drumsturdy Road on the eastern outskirts of the city be approved.
Dundee is running out of burial ground and has been searching for suitable sites for decades. Two options were Middleton Woods to the north of the city and land north of the A92 Arbroath road, but these were rejected.
A report by city development director Mike Galloway, to be considered at Monday’s meeting, explains that while the area at Drumsturdy Road is remote and not well served by public transport, it is difficult to see how a site for a new cemetery could be in a more accessible place.
Work will take place to make it easier to reach for cyclists and pedestrians, discussions will continue with bus companies to include the site on their routes and there will be 32 dedicated parking spaces plus 45 informal spaces on the access road.
The 3.7-hectare site, formed by two fields, is on the south side of Drumsturdy Road and east of West Lodge.
Neither Angus Council, whose boundary is not far from the site, nor the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, has any objection to it.
Historic Scotland also has no objection as it will not impact on historic monuments, including Cairn Greg to the east and south-east.
A neighbouring resident objected to the application because of concerns about road safety due to the proposed access and that the use of deer-proof fencing could trap deer on the road and create an additional safety hazard.
Mr Galloway said the boundary wall would be realigned to improve visibility and make access safer.
Scottish Natural Heritage suggested a gap should be created between the northern wall and landscaping to create an area where deer can graze and be less tempted to go back on to the road.
Mr Galloway concludes that although the application, which has been submitted by the council, contravenes policies in terms of public access, there are material reasons to support it.
He recommends that it should be approved subject to conditions about access, the retention of trees, the upgrading of paths, landscaping and deer-proof fencing.