Developer launches plan for 350 homes in Fife town five years after being refused

Hallam Land Management - the planning arm of 135-year-old construction firm Henry Boot - is proposing around 350 homes for the land at Milldeans Farm, alongside Prinlaws Road.

It has launched a new website, milldeansplanning.co.uk, to get feedback on its proposals before submitting a formal planning application to Fife Council. Two live consultation events will take place online on Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 June from 6pm-8pm.

This is not the first time Hallam has sought to redevelop the land at Milldeans.

The firm had a planning permission in principle thrown out by both Fife councillors and the Scottish Government's planning appeals division five years ago.

Both elected members and government reporters concluded the development they proposed at the time would have a significantly detrimental impact on traffic in the local area because of its single access road.

The previous plan was for fewer homes - around 300 in all - though Hallam says it has addressed the concerns raised about the last iteration by adding a second vehicle access opposite Fife Airport, near Goatmilk Farm.

It means there will be a continuous main-road access from Newcastle through to the alongside the airport, lined with crescents and cul-de-sacs for housing.

"This proposal at Milldeans offers a large housing site that will assist Fife Council in achieving its challenging housing land targets," the firm said of its plans.

"It is Hallam’s ambition to create a high-quality place in which a variety of family homes integrate positively with areas of publicly accessible open space, all of which respond to the key characteristics of the site, its landscape and the local area.

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"Should the application be successful, Hallam Land Management will look to market the site to a developer, at which stage more detailed plans with specific layouts and house types will be submitted to the Council as a further detailed application.

"Members of the public will have the opportunity to make further representations at that detailed stage of the planning process too."

The firm wants to create a new "village centre" within Milldeans with local facilities in a neighbourhood hub, along with multiple access points for cars, walking and cycle paths and a sports field.

It is unlikely that the proposals will placate members of the nearby community of Newcastle, who were extremely vocal in their opposition to the original plans through the Concerned Residents of Newcastle action group.

The group's dormant Facebook page has been reactivated, with some residents already expressing their displeasure at the plans returning.

Feedback to the proposals can be given through the website, by emailing [email protected], or by writing to RFA, 3 Walker Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7JY.

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