Cowdenbeath MSP Alex Rowley (pictured), who attended two funerals over last week, said he was “concerned” by a number of issues and questioned the impact it had on those grieving.

The crematorium is used by dozens of grieving families from the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area every year.

In a letter to the council, he explained how the car park entrance had been blocked off by wire fencing, causing “major problems” with traffic.

“All the cars coming in are having to drive along past the crematorium building to get round into the car park,” he said. “This is causing major problems as the cars are being blocked by funeral cars and there were traffic jams out on to the main road.

“When I looked at the entrance it would seem all this problem is as a result of the workers having two metal hut like buildings placed in the car park at the entrance.

“This seems to me to be sheer madness that all these problems are being caused for this reason. It would seem that no one has given any thought whatsoever for the impact that this will have on the families and mourners.

"They are not even an afterthought, they simply have not been considered when the car park was blocked off in this way.” Mr Rowley also raised concerns about the lack of toilet facilities available in the grounds and said, “I was advised that portable toilets had been looked at but that management within Fife Council took the view it was too expensive. If this were the case it would not be acceptable.” He added that the matter required “urgent attention” given the problems for families who were in mourning.

Liz Murphy, bereavement services manager, said, “We would like to apologise most sincerely to anyone attending a funeral in the last few days who was inconvenienced by the work being carried out at the crematorium. “We understand the sensitivity around carrying out any work at our cemeteries and crematoriums as a funeral is an emotional and stressful time for the people involved. We try at all times to be sensitive to those who are mourning.

“The work being undertaken is, however, essential and it is not possible to keep the toilets open while they are being refurbished. We have a fully accessible toilet in the Lodge House and this could perhaps have been more clearly communicated to those attending.

"We are working to keep disruption to a minimum by carrying out the work during the afternoons and evenings each day, when no services are currently being scheduled. We expect this to be completed in around 12 weeks.” In a reply to Mr Rowley, she added that the council would look at installing a temporary toilet next to the main building “as a matter of urgency” and confirmed that the traffic problems had been fixed.

"The traffic access issues have now been resolved with normal access to the car parking area available during service times,” she said.

“Miscommunication over proper signage and road markings plus the perceived requirement for facilities during the works that comply with CDM regulations led to the problems experienced and I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”