Developers behind plans for a massive housing project in Perth are being urged to enter into talks with an energy firm proposing to build a contentious biomass plant nearby.
Councillor Ian Campbell said there needs to be “synergy” between the two developments, earmarked for land just yards apart at the city’s Inveralmond area.
He made the comments as long-awaited proposals for Almond Valley Village were raised at a meeting of Perth and Kinross Council’s development management committee. The plans could see around 1,500 homes being built, along with a new primary school, on 160 acres of land at Ruthvenfield, near Huntingtower Hotel.
Councillors were told that a planning application for the development will be submitted soon and were asked to suggest any potential issues or concerns, without directly commenting on the scheme.
Alan Livingstone, who represents the Almond and Earn ward, said developers should be aware that the Church of Scotland could want to build a place of worship on the site. He stressed that nothing official has been proposed but it remains a possibility.
The revived Almond Valley plan is being worked on by the Pilkington Trust and is subject to an ongoing public consultation.
A public presentation will take place at Huntingtower Hotel on Wednesday December 3 from 3pm to 7pm.
The fresh plan, which follow a failed attempt in 2011, comes hot on the heels of a separate application to build a biomass plant on neighbouring land.
Four chimney stacks would rise 130ft from the Inveralmond Industrial Estate, if the scheme progresses. The plant would burn up to 200,000 tonnes of timber each year, with thousands of lorries supplying it.
Residents have hit out at the “relatively untested” technology involved in biomass. Developer Almondbank Power Ltd associated with O-Gen UK Ltd of Stoke believes the plant would produce clean and safe electricity for the national grid.