An Angus farmer has won his appeal to build a new £3 million crematorium on the border with Dundee.
Guthrie Batchelor hopes the Duntrune facility will be operational within 18 months after councillors overturned the 2021 decision of planning officials to block the bid.
The 31-year-old businessman said it was a “conclusive” victory in favour of the “lovely setting” overlooking Dundee and the Tay.
It will become the second crematorium in Angus.
But the lead objector in a campaign against the proposal has warned the creation of the facility is “not a foregone conclusion”.
Local resident Ian Robertson said Mr Batchelor will face a fight to get the land needed to put in place road improvements required for the project.
‘Delight and relief’
The crematorium will have a capacity for around 120 mourners and 125 car parking spaces.
It is to be sited on around two hectares of land owned by the Batchelor family, which has farmed in Angus for eight generations.
“It’s a mix of delight and relief that the committee upheld the appeal because this has been going on for close to three years,” said Mr Batchelor.
“We took a lot of time to look at this and this is going to be a really nice setting.
“It’s completely enclosed with views over to Dundee and I think it is an ideal location for such a facility.
“We’ve a lot of work to do, but ideally by summer next year I hope it would be built.
“Both Aberdeenshire and Fife councils have approved crematoriums in very similar rural locations and neither were particularly controversial.
“We now have the permission and we want to press on with creating ours in this ideal location.”
Why did councillors overturn the original refusal?
Planning officials cited a lack of public transport and active travel around the site as a key reason for their delegated refusal decision in January 2021.
But DMRC members who supported Mr Batchelor’s bid said very few people used public transport to attend a funeral.
Councillor Gavin Nicol said: “This site is not prime agricultural land, the field is difficult to farm.
“There are no significant issues that cannot be mitigated by planning conditions.
“Sepa has absolutely no objections and they will be responsible for granting a licence for the crematorium.”
In its newly-passed budget, Angus Council also axed three bus routes serving the Sidlaws.
Committee chairman Bill Duff said: “The lack of active travel needs to be examined against a common sense test.
“In rural Angus our public transport links are extremely poor.
“Nobody wants to get to a funeral service (on a bus) 55 minutes before it starts and wait 55 minutes after it ends.
“I would find it hard to find any location in Angus that would pass the active travel test.”
He said increased competition might also drive down cremation costs and reduce funeral poverty.
Campaigner’s disappointment
Ian Robertson of Duntrune House led the campaign against the crematorium plan.
It generated hundreds of objections and exposed “serious flaws” in the council’s 3,500-page planning report, leading to a final appeal ruling being delayed.
Mr Robertson said: “I, and I am sure many other residents of the Murroes and Wellbank area, are extremely disappointed that the DMRC has chosen to override local and national planning policies and the clear wishes of those residing in this area by upholding the appeal.
“The original planning application was rejected on sustainability grounds.
“It would appear from today’s decision that in a time of climate crisis Angus Council consider the use of private cars preferable to the use of public transport.”
He said he did not accept the funeral poverty argument and challenged the view the crematorium will not generate significant traffic.
Spate of accidents
“Our transportation consultant calculated the daytime traffic uplift from this proposal would be 39% which I consider to be significant by any standard.”
Mr Robertson said there had been six accidents on the road during a 33-day period in autumn 2021.
“The current Angus local development plan does not call for any new cremation facilities within Angus.
“As such it would appear the four DMRC members who supported overturning the appeal have chosen unilaterally to make up their own policy on this matter.
“Whilst it is very disappointing that the appeal has been upheld, planning conditions have yet to be considered and determined.
“Some of the conditions requested by Angus Council roads service are for major improvements on road safety grounds at two local road junctions.
“It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the landowner will be able to build his development after all as he does not own or control all the land required to bring about those road improvements,” said Mr Robertson.
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