Comedian and broadcaster Fred MacAulay has thrown his weight behind the campaign to block a highly controversial housing plan in his old home village.
The BBC Scotland star, who recently appeared in a viral video promoting Perth for the City of Culture title, has said council bosses need to listen to Scone residents’ concerns about air pollution.
Construction firm A&J Stephen’s bid to build 700 properties to the north of the village has sparked a major backlash from locals.
Nearly 1,000 people have written to Perth and Kinross Council calling for the multi-million-pound project to be rejected.
One of the main objections is the development’s potential impact on already worryingly high pollution levels.
Scone Community Council carried out their own pollution study last year. Air monitoring equipment, set up outside the village Post Office for two weeks, recorded air quality levels (40 microgram/m3) that exceeded EU levels.
Former resident MacAulay, an ex-pupil of Blairgowrie High School, has voiced his concerns about the scheme in an email to a local resident, which was released to The Courier.
He said: “I was delighted recently to have been asked by the BBC to participate in a short film supporting Perth’s bid for City of Culture 2021.
“In all my years on radio, I always described myself as a Perthshire man – to the extent that many people still think I live in Perthshire.”
The radio host, 60, added: “Anyway, I lived in (new) Scone for many years. I’ve found out the proposed development in Scone is scheduled to proceed, despite the fact that pollution levels are currently higher than allowable.
“I would urge the council to pay heed to the residents of Scone who are rightly worried that the development will only exacerbate the problem.”
The deadline to comment on the plan, before it is submitted to councillors for a final verdict, is Friday.
The scheme has been supported by nearly 100 of Stephen’s employees.
Managing director John Stephen defended his staff, saying they were only trying to protect their livelihoods, which depended on the site coming forward as soon as possible.
He was criticised for claiming that staff who lived in the village were deliberately excluded in a survey carried out by community councillors – a claim the local watchdog group has strongly refuted.
The company has declined to comment on MacAulay’s statement.
The broadcaster’s Perth2021 video for BBC Scotland has been so far watched by more than 96,000 people.