Emotional pleas to halt the “desecration” of memorial gardens appear to have failed to sway council chiefs.
Perth and Kinross Council is forging ahead with controversial plans to build a road in an area where the ashes of hundreds of people are scattered. The proposed works on the A9 and surrounding area are part of the multi-million-pound Perth Transport Futures Project.
It will see the junction upgraded and access created to planned expansion areas in Almond Valley and Perth West.
A planning application for the changes has now been made available on the council’s planning website.
The scheme has angered some families who have scattered the ashes of loved ones near the site.
The council maintains the plan would only cut a small section from the edge of the crematorium grounds.
The affected areas are understood to include the Winter and Bluebell gardens.
A number of petitions calling on the local authority to save the land have been posted online, attracting more than 3,500 signatures between them.
Objections range from the “desecration” of the final resting spot of loved ones to the local authority ignoring the wishes of those it represents.
Posting online, one woman wrote: “This is where my husband-to-be’s mother’s ashes were scattered in 2012, next to her two brothers who died when they were just children in separate road traffic accidents.
“Emotions are still high after her sudden death and this would be soul-destroying for him if these plans were to go ahead.
“He and his family need somewhere to go to pay respects.
“Surely a local authority wouldn’t desecrate the memory of dead children as well as a mother who was taken from her children at 49-year-old. Sickens me.”
Another said the plans prevented her from having her own remains placed in the gardens.
“(My) parents’ ashes are in the bluebell garden and the council are denying my right to have my ashes scattered with them,” she wrote.
Another commented: “Some things are just too sacred to many people to be rode roughshod over by a few people who are supposed to reflect the will of voters who elected them.”
Tory MSP Liz Smith will meet council officials on Monday to discuss the plans.
She said: “It is very disappointing that Perth and Kinross Council are forging ahead with the proposal despite the objections from thousands of people.
“It is clear that people across Perthshire and Kinross-shire are aggrieved at the way this issue has been handled.
“I fully appreciate the need to help alleviate traffic in what is already a very congested part of the town, however it is clear that, in this case, the wishes of families must be paramount in the minds of Perth and Kinross Council.
“I have received a huge mail bag on this issue and it is clear that local residents are opposed to the current plans.
“This is clearly a very sensitive issue for many families across the wider community and along with Councillor Alexander Stewart I have sought a meeting with Perth and Kinross Council to seek assurances on the routing of the road.”
Mr Stewart, Conservative candidate for Perth and North Perthshire at the Westminster general election, said: “The fact that over 2,000 local residents from across Perth and Kinross have expressed their opposition to the current proposals is significant and their concerns must be taken into account.
“At present the new road would be incredibly intrusive and having been on a site visit I feel would impact on what is a very important and emotional area for many families.”
The full plans include a new junction for the A9 and A85 Crieff Road, complete with footbridges, a bridge over the River Almond and extra car parking at the crematorium.