Scotland’s housing minister is facing pressure to call an investigation into a planning office’s handling of the highly divisive Scone North development.
Opponents to the 700-home village expansion were outraged when the planning application went before newly-elected councillors for a final decision last month.
They argued that it gave more than half of the members of the development management committee just days to get to grips with about 1,000 pages of submitted plans and more than 900 written complaints.
At the meeting, two SNP councillors stepped out claiming they had not had enough training to deal with the application.
The committee eventually voted eight-three in favour of the plan, however a strict construction embargo was put in place, stating that only 100 homes can be built before work begins on the Cross Tay Link Road.
And the next 67 properties cannot be occupied until the multimillion-pound crossing – which links the A9 to the north of Scone – is in place.
Now Local Government and Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has agreed to meet local MP Pete Wishart to discuss concerns surrounding the development.
It follows talks between Mr Wishart and Scone North objectors.
The Perth and North Perthshire MP said: “I was pleased that I was able to have a constructive and useful meeting with representatives of the Scone community who are opposed to the construction of 700 houses in the village.
“I am also delighted that I will be able to put their concerns directly to the Minister.”
He said: “There are many outstanding and unsatisfactory issues surrounding this application and there must be an investigation into how this application has been handled so far.
“The permission to build these houses was granted by a newly installed development management committee, with many brand new councillors who clearly said that they were simply not equipped to take such an important decision. Yet the meeting went ahead and the decision was taken.”
Mr Wishart said concerns remained about the status of the River Tay crossing and the potential rise in traffic at Bridgend and in Atholl Street in Perth, one of the country’s most polluted thoroughfares.
Committee members were told in May that postponing the application would prompt developers A&J Stephen to submit an appeal to Scottish Ministers, effectively taking control away from Perth and Kinross Council.
