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COUNCIL OFFICIAL URGES BUCHAN COUNCILLORS TO APPROVE PROJECT FOR CRIMOND, SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS

The race to build Aberdeenshire’s first crematorium is expected to clear another hurdle today.

Plans for the £3million scheme at Crimond, between Peterhead and Fraserburgh, are due to go before members of the Buchan committee.

A final decision on the project has been delayed on two previous occasions after councillors voted to visit the site and called for the developer to submit more information.

Local authority planners have put the proposal forward for approval, subject to a number of conditions.

In a report to go before councillors, a planning spokeswoman says there is a need for a crematorium in the region, with families currently forced to travel to Aberdeen or Buckie to cremate their loved ones.

Objectors say mourners could be disturbed by background noise at Crimond, while local residents argued that the building could have a negative impact on the outlook from their homes.

Council officials say loss of private view is not a “material planning consideration”.

“The loss of the open outlook from existing residences, while regrettable, would not form a reason for refusal,” a spokeswoman said.

“Extensive landscaping as proposed would ensure that, over time, there will not be an unacceptable loss.”

A business consortium has put forward the proposal for Crimond. It would be built on land at Hillhead Road, near the village’s former airfield, which is currently used for stock-car racing.

In the report, the planner says landscaping the site would also help reduce the noise nuisance caused by the cars and other nearby industrial buildings.

“A key point made by objectors is whether it is appropriate to locate a sensitive use like this so close to industrial uses,” she adds.

“This is a reasonable concern which I do appreciate.

“However, once landscaping becomes established, I consider that the site has the potential to become self- contained whereby there is unlikely to be an unacceptable conflict of uses.”

The crematorium would feature two furnaces and a chapel which could seat around 300 mourners.

There would also be a garden of remembrance and parking for 180 cars.

It would operate from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 10am to noon on Saturdays and be closed on Sundays.

The construction phase would create about 20 jobs, with five full-time staff expected to be employed on completion.

Buchan councillors will consider the plans today.

The consortium behind the Crimond bid faces competition from a rival development team that wants to build a crematorium on a 14-acre plot between Longside and Stuartfield, near Mintlaw.

Plans for the project, which would be built on land owned by Councillor Albert Howie, are at an early stage.

Peterhead Projects, a community-led group set up to boost the local economy, is another group keen to open a crematorium in the Buchan area.