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Windygates housing plan approval ‘ignores local democracy’

Fife councillors were accused of driving a truck through the development plan by nodding through the bid for 77 new homes.

An artist's impression of the new Campion Homes development in Windygates.
An artist's impression of the new Campion Homes development in Windygates.

Councillors were accused of ignoring local democracy as they approved plans for 77 new homes in a Fife village.

SNP group leader David Alexander said the decision flies in the face of overwhelming opposition and “drives a truck through Fifeplan”.

The local development plan allocated the Windygates site for housing a decade ago on condition it included two points of access.

A map showing the site of the proposed Windygates housing development.
A map showing the site of the Windygates housing plan.

However, Fife Council planning officers said they had since discovered it was “physically impossible” to create more than one access point.

But they said the Campion Homes proposal should be approved anyway.

A furious Mr Alexander said: “This is totally unacceptable.

“I don’t think the Fife planning service has the right to change conditions that the public have bought into for decades.”

The planning application for the site, known locally as The Temple, received 104 objections.

Windygates housing will increase traffic

Members of the west and central planning committee approved the application by seven votes to five.

The houses on the eight-acre site will range in size from two to six bedrooms.

Windygates residents fear it could result in more than 50 extra vehicles an hour using a narrow junction.

How the Windygates housing development site looks just now
How the site looks just now. Image: Google Street View.

There are also concerns health services could become swamped by additional residents.

Mr Alexander said more than 500 people objected to housing on The Temple when it was first mooted in 1992.

And a Scottish Government reporter then excluded it from the local plan due to access issues.

It was eventually added to an updated plan with the two-access condition.

‘Things are rarely set in stone’

However, transportation officer Mark Barratt said the Campion Homes plan was judged acceptable because it involves fewer than 200 houses.

He said there was no justification for insisting on two access points “when anybody visiting could see it couldn’t be provided”.

And he said sticking to that rule could result in the council being “hammered” if the developer appealed.

Committee convener, SNP councillor David Barratt, moved approval of the bid.

An image of the proposed Campion Homes development at Windygates.
An image of the approved Windygates housing plan.

He said: “The principle for housing has been established in the local development plan.

“Things do evolve in planning and they’re rarely set in stone.”

Speed ramps and off-street parking will be included in the development in a bid to ease traffic concerns.

However, Ken Johnstone, chairman of Windygates Community Council, said he was extremely disappointed by the outcome.

And Mr Alexander added: “I don’t think this is the way to do things.

“It ignores local democracy and drives a truck through Fifeplan.”

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