A SITE for a Fife Babies Memorial Garden in the Public Park has been agreed - but only after a 6-4 vote.

It will create an area of remembrance for all infants who were cremated but their ashes were not returned to their parents.

A site in the southern area of the park has been identified but councillors at the City of Dunfermline area committee were split over the location.

Councillor Derek Glen said: "Central Dunfermline Community Council were particularly concerned that it represents one of the main flat areas in the Public Park and as such it's used for many different purposes by the park's users, not least of which is the Fresh Air Festival and kids playing football and so on.

"It's why they took such pains to suggest another potentially suitable site that was determined as not the optimum site.

"For that reason there's more of an issue with the site recommended than the proximity to the railway station.

"It's particularly likely to affect a broad number of existing users of the park and it may be best considering further where best to site the memorial."

The 'baby ashes scandal' was uncovered in 2012 when failures in communication and working practice meant that ashes were not routinely returned to families following the cremation of infants.

Fife Council formally apologised to the families for their part in the hurt and anguish caused by the way Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy crematoria operated in the past.

The Fife Babies Memorial Working Group was set up and one of their aims was to find a suitable location in the Kingdom for a memorial.

The Public Park was selected last summer and the natural landscape garden will include new planting of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

The site is in the southern end of the park, close to the Dunfermline City railway station and south of both the bandstand and children's playpark.

Councillors were asked to agree a change of use of common good land.

Avril Guild, lead officer in bereavement services, said the alternative put forward by the community council was carefully considered but discounted due to accessibility and noise, due to the proximity to the underpass and dual carriageway.

She added: "The design will look at how we could maximise the flat area for other uses as well but the accessibility for that area and the size of the area asked for, it is the preference of the baby memorial working group.

"To have it anywhere else within the park, there were various issues that exclude the other areas.

"It will be inclusive for everybody. When they looked at various parks throughout Fife, Dunfermline was always rated very high as somewhere they would like the memorial to be hosted.

"The location within the park was considered very seriously."

Cllr Glen said: "I take on board the sensitivity of this. I guess the only thing to bear in mind is the working group represents a fairly small and specific interest relative to the existing wider community who use the park for all sorts of other different things."

He said the community council wanted the memorial to be hosted in the park, but were "very strongly minded" not to have it in that particular location.

He called for wider consultation with the users of the Public Park before a decision was taken.

Cllr James Calder, convener of the committee, said there had already been a "substantive amount of consultation", including with the community council, and he was keen for the project to move forward.

He recommended approval and members voted 6-4 in favour.