An under-fire construction firm has lodged fresh plans for nearly 200 houses in Kinross.
Just weeks after Persimmon Homes apologised to residents over their “illegal” new-build properties, bosses have submitted proposals to expand their troubled Lathro Farm site.
The company secured consent for its 300-home masterplan four years ago and work is well underway on the first wave of houses.
Persimmon originally said that phase two of construction would include 113 properties, however its latest planning application has bumped up that number to 195.
In papers lodged with council planners, agents Crawford Architectural explain: “The previously consented scheme for this phase of the development was based primarily on the supply of predominantly high value five and six bedroom properties.
“The applicant has established through direct experience of the first phase of the development that the demand for this type of housing is much lower than before, and seeks to introduce a greater number of smaller homes.”
As part of the review, Persimmon considered 202 houses.
Stephen Profili, managing director at Persimmon Homes North Scotland, said the company was “experiencing very high demand for smaller, more affordable, family housing at Lathro Meadows”.
“Unfortunately, our current planning consent on the balance of the site is restricted to very large villas,” he added.
“In response to this we are looking for permission to introduce smaller houses to meet this very obvious local demand. We believe that this change will allow us to meet the demand particularly from first time buyers, lower income families and down-sizers which we are aware is also a wider objective of the council.”
Mr Profili added: “The planning application has been submitted and we intend to work with the council to address any relevant issues which arise through the process.”
Last month, Perth and Kinross Council leafleted households at the site, warning owners that their new homes were being unlawfully occupied without proper documentation in place.
Persimmon offered its “sincere apologies” to those affected and pledged to work with the local authority to resolve the issue.
Just days earlier, the council ordered some streets around the estate to be fenced off, because they had been built without consent.
Since construction began on the land between Kinross and Milnathort in 2017, there has been a stream of complaints from residents who claim the developer has broken several planning conditions.
