Cuparians voice concernsover care home proposals

Edinburgh-based Balmoral Construction Ltd. has applied to Fife Council to build the facility on land in Carslogie Road, bought from the local authority by Balmoral Investment and Development Ltd., based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, when the police station closed.

The building was eventually demolished and the site has lain unoccupied for about a year-and-a-half.

The proposed care home has been designed by Kirkcaldy architects the Davidson Baxter Partnership, and is described as being ‘contemporary’ and ‘stylised’.

The plans are said to be ‘a departure from the standard form used by many developers, with a view to creating an architectural solution which will ‘sit comfortably within the site and enhance the visual amenity of the area.’

However, a number of people living in the vicinity are not happy about certain aspects of the proposal.

Bill Ferrier, who lives directly next door to the site, has taken advice from a planning consultant and transport consultant with a view to lodging a formal objection this week.

He described the parking facilities as ‘woefully inadequate’ and was concerned that his home would be overshadowed by the two-storey building.

“One parking space is proposed for every four residents,” he told the Fife Herald.

“These plans contravenes Fife Council’s own guidelines, which say there should be space for every three.

“There should also be a parking space for every staff member .

“The service area is totally inadequate and there is no provision for emergency access.”

Mr Ferrier’s concerns were echoed by several other obectors who, while agreeing that the site had potential for the development of a care home, were unhappy about the parking provision and the impact on the already busy Carslogie Road.

Cupar Community Council is to consider the application at its January meeting.

However in their design statement, the would-be developers say: “Given the volume of traffic which used the site in the recent past, the flow of traffic to the care home will be significantly less than the than would otherwise have occurred. There is also a reduction in the movements of heavy vehicles to and from the site.

“These matters can therefore be regarded as having a positive benefit to the site, in terms of highway safety. Employees may in fact walk to the home or use public transport, given the location of the site rather than travel via car. Again, this is a perceived benefit to the site and the layout.”