Fresh battle to stop village housing plan

Ogilvie Homes Limited has already attempted to build the houses on the patch of land, but Fife Council voted to turn down their application in March 2015.

Now a fresh application has been made by the firm, and Kingsbarns Community Council says it should not be approved.

The application follows a previous round of housing, phase 1, which was built nearby.

A meeting was held on Wednesday night at the memorial hall to gauge the opinions of residents.

Kate Holy, convener of the Kingsbarns Community Council planning sub-committee, said new developments would be welcome, however, the current housing design and size would be at odds with surrounding homes.

“The meeting was very well attended,” she said. “There were even people who have moved into the first phase of the Ogilvie development, who are against the second phase.

“The feeling of the village is that this development is inappropriate in terms of size and style. The style is not sympathetic to the houses nearby. We would prefer smaller affordable housing.

“Many of the larger homes end up being bought as holiday homes which are rented out. Affordable homes would be likely to bring more permanent residents to the village.”

An initial bid to add 21 homes was unsuccessful, so Ogilvie reduced the number of units in the hope of having it approved.

Planning officials had recommended the green light for the site in 2015, however, councillors rejected the recommendations.

The Scottish Government turned an appeal by the developer down, with a reporter citing concerns over the size of the houses and its style in relation to the surrounding area.

Kate Holy added: “This particular design is almost unchanged from the one before, where the Reporter had criticisms.”

A spokesman for Ogilvie Homes said:“We have listened to feedback on the plans for the second phase of the Kingsbarns development and reduced the number of homes as well as making the overall site smaller.This is in line with the original plans which were approved for both phases of the project.”