Scottish government rejects crematorium bid appeal

Aberdeenshire councillors' rejection of the crematorium plans has been backed by Scottish government officials

The Scottish government has turned down an appeal after plans for a crematorium were rejected by Aberdeenshire councillors.

Businessman Fraser Milne lost his bid to construct the facility at Daviot near Inverurie earlier this year.

He said it would help meet growing demand, but a local business objected to the plans.

Mr Milne later appealed to the Scottish government's planning department. In a written recommendation to ministers, its reporter said the crematorium would go against planning policies over the change of land use, as well as noise and transport considerations.

Mr Milne wanted to build the crematorium on a site on the Inverurie to Rothienorman road.

One neighbouring business - Stewart Trailers - raised concerns that it could affect its viability.

Aberdeenshire Council's Garioch area committee agreed with planning officials' view that it should go ahead.

However, the Formartine area committee voted against it and was backed by the Infrastructure Services Committee (ISC) at a later meeting.

In his statement of appeal Mr Milne's solicitors said the council acted unreasonably in refusing the application without giving reasons for doing so.

They argued that the council had been inconsistent when considering other applications for crematoria.

In its response to the Scottish government reporter, Aberdeenshire Council said the decision taken by the ISC provided sufficiently clear and precise reasons for refusal.

Mr Milne has also applied for an award of expenses against the council, which will be decided separately.

Lorraine Howard, who campaigned against the crematorium plans, told BBC Scotland News she was hugely relieved by the decision.