The charity behind Earthship Fife has lodged plans for an eco-village in Burntisland.
Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), which established the Earthship visitor centre in Kinghorn, has applied for planning permission to build 12 ”Earthship” homes and a bunkhouse at Widows’ Land, across from the golf course.
Their aim is to demonstrate how reliance on fossil fuels and waste production can be minimised, and help people learn about sustainable living.
Included in the plans are organic vegetable plots, a children’s play area and woodland walks.
According to the business plan compiled by SCI development manager Paula Cowie, the project would bring 23 new jobs to the area, as well as 100 volunteer and training opportunities per year.
”With the aim of managing the Widows’ Land in perpetuity for the community and environmental benefits, there will be no private ownership of the land, buildings and houses,” said the report.
”The organisational structures will consist of a community land trust made up of trustees from the eco-village, residents and members of the surrounding communities, and a housing cooperative, who will rent the houses as affordable housing to tenants.
”Through lengthy consultation periods, significant achievements have been made to engage the local community and their major concerns have been addressed.
”For example, rockfall concerns have been addressed through an engineer survey and privacy concerns have been addressed through relocating the houses to the west end of the site away from Livingstone Drive.”
A number of objections to the proposal have been received by the council.
One objector commented: ”SCI have tried to accommodate a number of local concerns which I applaud. I also feel that their vision of an eco-village is of potential benefit to the area, however their choice of site is wrong for a number of reasons.
”By moving their development to the east end of the land to try to accommodate responses by local people, they appear to have crammed the housing in.”
Another wrote: ”Despite the claims stating otherwise, this project is not environmentally friendly in that it will damage an area which has already got an eco-environment, and trees and wildlife will be destroyed for no actual community benefit.”