An appeal over the refusal of plans for a new Angus crematorium on farmland near Arbroath will be heard next week.
And campaigners against a recently approved facility at Duntrune are getting involved in the planning battle.
They say the Carmyllie location is a much better site than the one given the go-ahead on their doorstep.
Carmyllie crematorium rejected by council
In May, farmer Neil McEwan saw his Greystone proposal blocked by Angus planning officials under delegated powers.
The crematorium beside the B961 just north of Carmyllie Hall would have capacity for 120 mourners.
But the council said the idea of using a greenfield site breached national planning policy.
It also criticised a lack of public transport, pedestrian or cycle links.
Mr McEwan’s appeal will be considered by planning review councillors on Tuesday.
He argues there is a pressing need for a new crematorium in Angus, with no “sequentially preferable” brownfield sites available.
The applicant says if Angus “slavishly follows” a policy against greenfield development it will mean no new crematoria can be built.
And he plans to build a new path and bus stop to address sustainable transport concerns.
Duntrune similarities in Greystone application
The Carmyllie bid has echoes of the controversial Duntrune plan which was recently granted at appeal for the second time in 18 months.
It will also use farmland for the development.
And the rural location has been a key issue throughout the long planning battle.
But farmer Guthrie Batchelor was cleared to press on with the development.
Councillors said people chose to go to funerals by car – not bus, cycle or on foot.
He hopes to start work on site next spring for a 2026 opening of the new crematorium.
But opponents who previously took their fight all the way to the Court of Session are likely to be considering their next move.
Ian Robertson has led the four-year fight against the Duntrune site.
And he is supporting the Carmyllie bid.
He says: “The Greystone site is a sustainable, suitable, accessible and appropriate location for a crematorium. I therefore support planning permission for it being granted on appeal.”
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