A Fife MSP has delivered an impassioned plea to delay a debate about a massive expansion of Cupar.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie has warned the Cupar North development may be about to plunge the town down the same route as Dunfermline’s eastern expansion.
He has asked Fife Councillors who will discuss Fife’s development plan FIFEplan on Tuesday to put on hold this section of the plans.
The MSP has to written to the Executive Committee, stating: “Building 1,400 homes on the northern aspect of the town over the next two decades will be the largest and fastest expansion that the old county town of Fife will have ever experienced.
“From my direct experience the vast majority of residents are opposed and feel exasperated that their voices are not being heard.”
Mr Rennie warned: “I fear that the council may be about the repeat the mistakes experienced in the Dunfermline eastern expansion which I lived through as the MP for the area.
“It is almost an impossibility to plan effectively for the necessary infrastructure such as schools, health services, shops as well as roads and other forms of transport with such a large and fast expansion.
“It is the communities that inevitably suffer from such problems.”
He said he had been surprised that there was insufficient recognition that new, large developments like this needed to be future proofed with technologies such as modern district heating systems a requirement for developers.
“We need to plan for the long term rather than rush to meet house building targets,” he said.
“I have serious concerns that a proper analysis of the suitability of the site has not been undertaken.
“For example, we know flooding will increasingly become a problem for communities and needs to be addressed in advance.
“Finally, organic growth in other parts of Cupar and the surrounding villages has been hindered because of the singular focus on Cupar North.
“This centralised, eggs in one basket, approach is setting the area back.”
