Council chiefs have been warned that Perth is in danger of becoming a “dormitory city” with fresh plans for hundreds of new homes.
Developers have unveiled a multi-million-pound bid for more housing at Huntingtower on the edge of the city.
A public exhibition was held to give locals a chance to check out the vision for 150 acres of vacant land at West Mains. The plan involves around 500 homes, with business units, a park and ride facility and possibly a new primary school.
More than 200 people attended the event at the Huntingtower Hotel and discussed the proposal with representatives of developers M&SM Bullough and A Ritchie and Son.
Feedback will be used to draw up a planning application, which is likely to be submitted to Perth and Kinross Council in the coming months.
A spokesman for agents Strutt and Parker said: “We very much appreciate everyone taking the time to come to the exhibition to enable us to better understand the issues and concerns about the proposed development.
“We will be working on the background technical work, and our masterplan, over the next few months and hope to be holding a further exhibition of our proposals for the site in May/June this year”.
The site is just a few hundred yards from the controversial, 1,300-home Almond Valley proposal, which was rejected after widespread opposition from residents but approved on appeal.
A further 3,000 homes are being built at Bertha Park.
The Methven and District Community Council has written to the local authority, raising concerns about the amount of new housing going up around Perth.
At this stage, there is no formal objection to the West Mains proposal.
Chairman Kenneth Simpson wrote: “Greater Perth seems an anarchic shambles, and we see no or inadequate checks to safeguard existing cultural values which matter to residents.”
He said: “In our view, the Local Development Plan has been rendered useless by the planners / councils reckless rush for consents.
“Are we to become a dormitory city with building sites all around Perth for the next 20 years?”
Mr Simpson added: “We know that councillors are sympathetic to the concerns of local residents, and we believe the latter wish to see a debate on the scale and location of large new developments in which their and the local peoples’ concerns will be reflected in the final outcome.”
A masterplan for the West Mains site was developed following design workshops in 2015 that were attended by more than 100 residents. It was concluded the site would be suitable for a mixture of housing and employment space.