By Dave Lord

A NEW village is set to be built in the Carse of Gowrie, The Courier can exclusively reveal.

Plans for the 240-home development at Errol airfield were called in by the Scottish Government late last year amid huge controversy.

The proposal had been approved by Perth and Kinross councillors—against the express advice of the authority’s own planning chief, Nick Brian.

He had warned that local primary schools could not take the additional strain that would be generated by an influx of new families to the area.

Meanwhile, the community council objected in the “strongest possible terms” citing concerns over increased traffic and the “blatant lack of an overall housing strategy.”

They were last night devastated to learn that the Scottish Government had refused to overrule the local authority’s decision.

Protesters had hoped calling in the plan would lead to a public inquiry, giving them a chance to re-state their concerns.

However, The Courier understands Scottish Government officials have handed the application back to the council without comment, effectively meaning the original approval stands.

Subject to a number of planning conditions being ironed out, Morris Leslie Ltd will construct the new village.

Campaigners last night said they were devastated by the development, insisting it was a “disastrous” decision.

When contacted by The Courier, a Scottish Government spokesman said, “We did not make any decision on whether the application should be given the go-ahead.

“We decided it should be decided by the local council so we have referred it back to them.”

Meanwhile, A Perth and Kinross Council spokesman confirmed details of the development but said construction work was still a long way off.

“Things like education provision and other infrastructure that is required will be discussed and agreed with the developer ahead of any planning permission being granted,” he said.

“A legal Section 75 agreement covering all these requirements will be signed before outline planning permission is issued.

“The initial planning permission will be outline only—the developer will then have to come up with detailed plans for the development and proposals to provide local infrastructure.”

The spokesman added that, as such, developers would not be moving in “for some time”.

Nevertheless, there can be little doubt the village will now be built, much to the consternation of Errol Community Council.

“We really hoped there would be a public inquiry,” a spokeswoman said.

“We are very disappointed by this and remain completely opposed to the proposal.

“There are major concerns surrounding the amount of traffic that will be generated.

“This is a very isolated development and there seems to be no real strategy for housing locally,” the spokeswoman added.

“In addition there is simply no room in the local school—this is a disastrous decision.”

Unsurprisingly, the community council’s comments contrasted starkly with those provided by developer Morris Leslie Ltd.

When contacted by The Courier a spokesman said the company was delighted that an end is finally in sight to what has been a long-running and at times controversial planning saga.

“We are delighted to have at last achieved a positive result,” the spokesman said.

“It has been a long and tedious road to get this far.

“It is too early to say when work will commence but we envisage that it would be least one year away.

“This is a major step forward for ourselves,” the spokesman added.