AN UNDERTAKER plans to open up its first East Lothian funeral home in a portable cabin parked in a supermarket car park.

Scotmid Co-operative is expanding its funeral service into the county and has lodged plans to set up shop in its own car park in Prestonpans.

A planning application with East Lothian Council says Scotmid proposes to have the “permanent siting of a portacabin for use as a funeral home” in the car park of its food store on the seaside town’s High Street.

The cabin would be placed along the boundary wall of the car park on the High Street side with an entrance knocked through the wall and railings installed to allow people to walk in off the street.

The funeral home would have an arranging room, reception, toilet facilities and kitchen area.

In its application, Scotmid said that any waste from the new facility would be dealt with by the supermarket, adding: “The facility is basically a booking office.”

A spokesperson for Scotmid Co-operative, whose president Harry Cairney lives in Prestonpans, said: “Scotmid Funerals have submitted a planning application with East Lothian Council for a modern pod funeral office on Prestonpans High Street, situated adjacent to our convenience store.

“If our application is successful then the pod would be our first funeral office in East Lothian and, given the amount of Scotmid members in the area, this would be a logical step for our society in order to serve the local community.

“Scotmid Funerals have opened pod offices in both Clermiston and Sighthill over the past 18 months and the overall aim would be to engage positively with the local community in Prestonpans – the hometown of our president, Harry Cairney – and the surrounding areas.”