A property developer has moved to allay fears a proposed development will come with a rat run.
Despite this, community councillors are to maintain their objection to plans for up to 300 houses in Forfar.
Elite Homes (Tayside) Ltd has asked Angus Council for planning permission in principle at Turfbeg, bordering the impending school hub.
Mark Guild, managing director of Elite’s partner firm, Guild Homes, gave Forfar Community Council an update on the plans, along with associate Karen Clark.
The community council’s main concern is the proposed link road between Taylor Street and Kirriemuir Road, but Mr Guild said the road would be negotiable after outline planning consent is decided.
“If there’s a linkage that is beneficial to pedestrians and cyclists, then that might make some people happy,” he said.
“You’re quite right that there shouldn’t be a huge flow of traffic.
“We can provide a solution where there’s a low flow of traffic or a solution where it’s only for pedestrians and cyclists.”
Mr Guild said the inclusion of a new road was based more on what council planners look for in a pre-application stage.
Members of the community council believed the through road would be a fait accompli, however.
The first houses north of Turfbeg could be finished in 2016, the year in which the replacement for Forfar Academy will be ready. Elite promoted Turfbeg as appropriate for new development at the time of the Angus Local Plan Review.
A Scottish Government reporter confirmed it was the correct direction for growth and consequently recommended the site be safeguarded for possible residential development and related community facilities.
This was confirmed by Angus Council and included as Policy F9 in the adopted Angus Local Plan Review 2009.
Mr Guild said other areas of concern raised by the community council, such as drainage and the risk of flooding, had been looked at, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had not objected. Public transport access would be catered for by two bus stops, one either side of the Kirriemuir Road.
On concerns about overdevelopment in the town, community councillors were told “there is a need for this housing”.