A Fife funeral director has submitted a planning application for the East Neuk’s first eco-cemetery.
Elie-based Alan Stephen hopes to create the natural burial ground on land he owns within Elie Estate.
The idea is to provide an alternative to conventional cemeteries by providing a peaceful area for the interment of coffins and ashes.
If approved, animals would continue to graze on the site and there would be no headstones or buildings.
The funeral director said his proposal would lead to very little change in the site’s appearance.
Families may wish to plant a few trees.
And there would be a seating area and a memorial board containing all the names of those buried there.
He expects no more than two burials per month on average.
Strong community support for eco-cemeteries in Fife
The move is backed by Fife Council’s bereavement service, which is in the middle of a public consultation on cemetery provision in the region.
There are around 900 burials a year in Fife.
And a recent survey found there will be no cemetery capacity left in the region within 80 years without action.
Some cemeteries in the East Neuk will be full within five to 10 years.
Bereavement services manager Liz Murphy said the consultation so far had found strong community support for eco-cemeteries.
“There is an expectation that Fife Council should be a provider but any additional private facilities would be a welcome addition,” she said.
An application for an eco-cemetery in Kinghorn was approved in 2016 but it has yet to be created.
Four nuns are already buried on the site
Mr Stephen’s land lies north-west of Elie House, which served as a convent from the 1950s to the 80s.
The site was consecrated and a small area is home to the graves of four nuns who died there.
In his application letter, Mr Stephen said: “We would like to open the area as a green burial site with biodegradable coffins etc and no headstones.
“There will be an area for quiet reflection and an information area for the names of the deceased buried in the grounds.”.
And he added: “We would like to welcome people who wish to be laid to rest in this quiet peaceful area.”
While the Fife eco-cemetery could be the first of its kind in the region, a similar burial ground has been operating in Angus since 2018 and is now the best in the UK.
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