Crematorium and construction skills academy development in Glenrothes is rejected

Fife Council’s west and central planning committee turned down the proposal which the developers said would create 140 jobs. The application sparked 116 objections from the public. Respect Developments (Scotland) Ltd and Dignity Funerals Ltd jointly put forward plans to create a crematorium, a construction skills academy and a manufacturing facility at Southfield Industrial Estate site.

Although Councillor Lesley Backhouse (SNP for Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy) stated that “there’s nothing more certain in life than death and taxes,” West and Central planning councillors unanimously rejected the plans on Wednesday.

“It’s probably one of the most unusual mixes I’ve ever seen in an application. The three [proposed uses] are quite disparate in many ways,” said Councillor John Beare (SNP for Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch).

“This may be an acceptable application if it was located somewhere else in Glenrothes but we can only assess the application that is in front of us,” he added.

A press release from the developers - issued before the meeting - emphasised that the development would have created up to 140 jobs, including 80 apprentices, and it would have “served to address a shortfall of crematorium facilities in Fife.”

It said the crematorium would "financially enable the delivery of the Skills Academy and manufacturing facility, delivering up to 150 new jobs in total.”

“It is clearly disappointing that council officers are recommending refusal of our application, which would bring a much-needed jobs boost to Fife,” Mark Williams, Dignity’s property and logistics director, said.

“The Construction Skills Academy and manufacturing facility are financially enabled through the crematorium, which will also serve to address a recognized need for such facilities in Fife.”

However, councillors and the public all seemed to be aligned - the application should not be allowed to proceed. The proposals garnered 116 letters of objection. Some argued that an industrial estate is an inappropriate setting for a crematorium. Others said that there is a lack of public transport options for mourners, and that it was too close to residential properties.

There was general agreement that both the construction skills academy and the manufacturing facility would be considered acceptable at Southfield, but the crematorium ultimately tipped the scales.

Planning officers explained that the site is considered to be dedicated employment land - meaning new developments should aim to create up to 70 jobs per hectare. In this case, the crematorium aspect would use nearly three hectares, but only create about 15 jobs.

Developers also failed to convince Fife’s economic development team that other potential employers or employment developers are not interested.

They submitted marketing information up until 2021 which showed that no one else had been interested in purchasing the site for employment uses.

However, planning officers called that information out of date, emphasising that the market has changed in recent years.

Councillors and planners were also concerned about “general compatibility” of a crematorium within an industrial estate.

“It’s obviously quite a sensitive use,” officers said. “If the crematorium was approved and established within an industrial estate it might actually have an impact on the general land use strategy of the area and compromise on existing and future businesses that might want to locate within the estate.”

Cllr Beare acknowledged that Glenrothes does not have its own cemetery or crematorium, but suggested that the council can look at that issue as part of its next Local Development Plan. However, it was clear that the tri-use crematorium, manufacturing and education facility was not popular with councillors, the public or planners.