Residents oppose luxury homes plan at Kirkcaldy’s Seafield estate

Residents have voiced their concerns over plans for luxury homes on green space at Seafield and are calling for the proposal to be rejected.
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The move comes after the Seafield Consortium Limited submitted an application to build eight houses on green space to the north of Craigfoot Place, close to the Seafield estate.

The single-storey homes will have either four or five bedrooms and will offer sea views across the Firth of Forth.

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In documents submitted with the planning application, the developer says the housing scheme below Long Craig Walk will bring waste ground into good use as it has ‘become an eyesore over the past few years’.

The houses will be built here below Long Craig Walk.The houses will be built here below Long Craig Walk.
The houses will be built here below Long Craig Walk.

But a group of 14 residents, who live in houses which will overlook the proposed development, want people to make their views known to Fife Council before March 26 to secure as many objections as possible.

In a statement released by the residents, it said the green space site is well used by local walkers and dog walkers: “Having reviewed the plans, 14 adjoining neighbours together with other local residents have decided to object to this proposal.

"This is not a suitable housing site due to its limited width and for the past 20 years, the council has specifically identified this area of ground in successive development plans as protected open space/green space.

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"We would like this designation enforced by the council – there are no plans to make any alternative provision for the loss of this open space."

The houses will sit on this land which currently slopes down towards the coastal path.The houses will sit on this land which currently slopes down towards the coastal path.
The houses will sit on this land which currently slopes down towards the coastal path.

The residents said the land forms ‘an important buffer to the adjoining Site of Special Scientific Interest that runs along the coast.’

Plans for eight houses have been submitted on this land to the north of Craigfoot Place at Seafield, Kirkcaldy.Plans for eight houses have been submitted on this land to the north of Craigfoot Place at Seafield, Kirkcaldy.
Plans for eight houses have been submitted on this land to the north of Craigfoot Place at Seafield, Kirkcaldy.

The statement continued: “The development of the site will see the existing banking down to the Coastal Path regraded and enclosed into private gardens, greatly reducing the attractiveness of the route to Seafield Tower. It will also have a major impact on the ecology of the area.”

The residents also believe the development will negatively impact on existing education capacity.

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However, in documentation included in the planning application from Davidson Baxter Partnership, architects acting on behalf of the developers, it said the land should not have been left empty in the previous development.

The statement said: “The full planning application offers the applicants an opportunity to complete the remaining section of the Seafield site which in hindsight should have been incorporated within the overall development plan.

“Given the site is now run-down and unkept there is an opportunity to improve the area which has become an eyesore over the past few years.

“The setting of the existing houses will be vastly improved and our clients take the view the proposals will enhance the locality and the site.”

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The statement continued: “The site, whilst ‘private’ by its nature, can be accessed by the public to access the green network via a defined route maintaining privacy for residents.

“The site which forms part of the green network is linked to the extended network which extends from Tiel Bridge to Seafield Tower.

“It is intended that the ‘green network’ between these two landmarks will be retained and enhanced ... retaining the valuable coastal path links.”

The developers also employed consultants to do an ecology study of the site, which did not reveal any records of rare or notable species.

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