Plans for a new graveyard in Ellon are back on the agenda, almost two years after councillors put them on hold.
Both Ellon and St Mary’s cemeteries are currently at full capacity, prompting proposals for a third site to the north of the town at Balmacassie.
The land has been allocated for a graveyard in the local development plan, but when local councillors last discussed the proposals in 2012 they deferred them amid road safety concerns.
Now the plans will go back before the Formartine area committee tomorrow.
If approved, the new burial ground, opposite Balmacassie Way, would have more than 2,300 new plots, including 176 casket lairs.
In a report to councillors, director of infrastructure services Stephen Archer says: “Essentially the layout proposed is a relatively logical one, typical to cemetery developments, which maximises the best use of available space.
“Lairs have been grouped together in four large areas within the site, with a focal landscaped area at the centre and permeable access for both vehicles and pedestrians throughout the site.”
Access would be from the A948 Ellon to Auchnagatt road, with parking for 34 vehicles.
When the proposals were last discussed, councillors raised concerns about people negotiating the turn-off for the cemetery from the A948 Ellon bypass.
It is currently a 60mph stretch, but roads bosses said it would be reduced to 50mph if the graveyard was approved.
Another concern was the lack of parking provision. At the moment, mourners often walk from the town’s churches to the cemetery, spilling onto the road as they follow the hearse. Under the new plans, people would be more likely to drive.
The new proposals have fewer spaces allocated than the 46 proposed in 2012, but the planning service – which is recommending the scheme for approval – has said it will install a new pavement to better link the cemetery with the town.