A quarry operator has won its appeal against Fife Council’s refusal to allow it to extract two million tonnes of sand and gravel from farmland in the Howe of Fife.
Last year the local authority declined planning permission for a quarry at Kinloch Farm, near Collessie.
Residents had campaigned against the 82-hectare development and a leading NHS consultant had warned that neighbours’ health could be put at risk from dust.
However, Laird Aggregates appealed to Scottish ministers to overturn the decision by the council’s North East Fife area committee, and its appeal has just been granted, meaning the quarry can go ahead.
Laird Aggregates proposes to operate the quarry for almost 15 years before restoring the land.
Official reasons for planning refusal were that the development would have a detrimental visual impact, significant cumulative effects on residential amenity, road safety and visual amenity, trees would have to be removed and there was no evidence of a deficiency of aggregates for the construction industry.
But Laird Aggregates claimed the potential for noise, dust, environmental and air quality impact was low or negligible.
Scottish Government reporter Clive Sproule said in his conclusion: “No matters have been found to outweigh the benefits of the appeal scheme and the associated policy compliance within the context and the scope of possible planning conditions.”
Howe of Fife councillor Andy Heer expressed dismay at the news.
He said: “I’m disappointed for the residents at Kinloch whose lives are to be blighted by living next to an industrial development for the next 20 years.
“I’m also dismayed at the spoiling of this beautiful landscape setting and the effect it will have on the natural flora and fauna of the area.
“I’m also seriously concerned about road safety. We’re going to have something like 8,000 quarry trucks per year turning at Trafalgar junction, with most of them turning right across the flow of traffic.
“Many of these trucks will then be travelling on the A92, adding considerably to the traffic on this notorious road.
“When you consider there will soon be biomass lorries servicing the RWE plant as well it makes a safety review of this section of the A92 even more urgent and I am contacting communities alongside the A92 for their views and suggestions.”