Developers behind a plan for 1,500 houses, that has led to a legal hearing at one of the country’s top law courts and a public inquiry, have claimed the controversial proposal would deliver “much needed” housing for west Perth.
The Pilkington Trust said it was pleased by the bombshell announcement that the contentious Almond Valley plan has been backed by the Scottish Government’s Local Development Plan Examination Report.
As a result, it is being recommended to be incorporated into the adopted local plan despite a recent decision at the Court of Session, refusing an appeal by the trust.
The Almond Valley village plan comprised 1,500 homes, a primary school, and leisure and retail office facilities to be built on land adjacent to Huntingtowerfield and Ruthvenfield.
Perth and Kinross Council refused the Almond Valley plan in December 2011 and it was removed from the Local Development Plan a month later. T
he Pilkington Trust appealed the refusal to the Scottish Government and a public inquiry was held in Perth in July/August last year.
Katrina Rice, the Scottish Government’s directorate for planning and environmental appeals reporter, then dismissed the appeal.
The trust took its fight to the Court of Session in Edinburgh in July this year and Lord Armstrong again refused the appeal.
Alastair Wood, a planning director with Savills, who act on behalf of the Pilkington Trust, told The Courier that a fresh application for Almond Valley will now be submitted to Perth and Kinross Council and that the developers aim to hold talks with local residents to allay their “concerns”.
He said: “The Scottish Government’s decision here is binding there is no alternative option. We always thought that was the case but it is unfortunate it has taken so long to get to this stage. We have had two years of appeals and challenges and a lot of expense to the Pilkington Trust and Perth and Kinross Council.”
He went on: “There was a lot of local opposition to the Almond Valley plan but that was set against the wider benefits for the whole of Perth as this will create jobs and investment in the medium term.
“This proposal will bring much-needed housing to Perth.”
Council leader Ian Miller has said that it will take “some time” for local authority officers to examine the full details of the recommendations in the Scottish Government document.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council commented: “The council now has a period of three months to consider the reporter’s recommendations before publishing a modified Local Development Plan.
“Over the next few weeks we will examine its contents carefully and then report the examination findings to a future meeting of the council.
“It is important to highlight that the reporter’s recommendations do not relate to any specific planning applications.”