Plans for 1800 homes, school, leisure and green space in Levenmouth unveiled

Wemyss Estates Trustees have submitted the detailed application to the local authority, and are seeking planning permission in principle.

The project - one of the biggest in the area for many years - comes as the £116m Levenmouth Rail Link is in its final months of construction and due to launch next Spring, reconnecting the town to the rail network for the first time in 50 years.

Wemyss Estates said the proposed development, which extends to some 123 hectares, is sited on mainly agricultural fields, and it would be “a natural settlement extension” linking to the new station at Cameron Bridge.

It could comprise 1850 new homes - five per cent of which will be affordable homes - with permission also sought for a mix of business, retail and leisure as well as green routes, open spaces, naturalistic meadows and native woodlands.

A design statement, submitted by the company, said: “The proposed development will make a valuable contribution to the Methil and Leven area through provision of a number of necessary local facilities which will increase the quality of life and improve the areas education, active travel and open and green space. The site provides a natural settlement extension linking the existing settlement edge to the prospective new rail station.”

Around 350 direct and indirect jobs would be created annually during construction based on an average completion rate of around 100 homes being built each year over a period of around 20 years.

The planning applications comes after community consultations staged in recent years. A Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) lapsed before any formal planning application was submitted, bu the feedback from those events has now been adopted as part of the proposed new blueprint. Concerns were raised over the impact on local roads and infrastructure, schools and services, the environment.

An education assessment has also been carried out, and the proposal provides for a new mixed use centre as well as a primary school.

Wemyss Estates Trustees also outlined plans for a landscape framework incorporating a variety of green routes, open spaces, naturalistic meadows and native woodlands.

Larger amenity spaces are incorporated in the Western Park, the Common Good Land and adjacent to Starkie's Wood.

The planning statement added: “A large green corridor is also proposed along the southern edge of the site between Sea Road and Methilhaven Road. It is intended that this will be a more naturalistic amenity space, incorporating Starkie's Wood and leading to the Common Good Land which will be retained as existing.

This approach provides a variety of green spaces, ensuring the green network of the site is capable of accommodating a wider variety of users' needs.

“Two equipped play areas will be provided, within the east and west of the site. These will ensure all homes have easy access to play facilities. The larger green spaces in the proposal are supported by a series of green corridors. These will incorporate active travel routes, connecting to the wider surroundings.”

Councillors will consider the application in due course.