VILLAGERS in Aberdour have vowed to fight plans to build 125 executive homes on land at Hillside School. 

The proposal, which has received more than 100 objections, would also see the relocation of the school to the north-west of where the existing building stands. 

Families in the village fears the proposal could double the size of the village and put extra pressure on Aberdour’s already stretched school and doctors’ surgery. 

Aberdour Community Council discussed the plan when they met at the Institute last Thursday evening. 

Chairman Ian Fleming told the Press: “It was clear to see the strength of feeling against these plans. There was a huge turnout of about 70 people and we continue to object to this development. 

“We asked the village what they thought and they don’t want it. We will now submit our views to Fife Council. In recent years, we have also seen plans to develop the east and west side of the village. 

“It seems to me that developers just do not take in the views of the village. They would have much more positive discussions if they developed their ideas much earlier on in the process with locals.”

Hillside School for boys is currently housed inside a 200-year-old building that needs modernising. If a new school building was constructed on a different part of the land than a brownfield site would be left with capacity for 70 houses. 

A draft local development plan by Fife Council said that only a development of a limited nature would be a possibility if Hillside School did not continue. 

John Burrell, who has objected to the development, said building houses “was a fallback option inserted by Fife Council in the previous Local Plan to find a use for a brownfield site should the existing commercial operation no longer be viable.”

“This PPP is a completely different and separate project for 125 executive houses on 55 hectares,” he added.

“The size of the development is totally inappropriate for a village like Aberdour. It would increase the village area by at least a third and the total area, including school, if built, would double the size of the village.”

Another objector said: “Primary school numbers in some classes are at or near capacity, while a doctor’s appointment can take weeks. Water, sewerage, and transport infrastructure in this ancient village will be unable to cope with such an expansion.”

The community council expects a planning application to be submitted by Felsham Planning and Development, who are acting on behalf of Hillside School, in the next couple of weeks. 

Mr Fleming added: “The land that Hillside School is on is a brownfield site but there would still be a huge amount of construction. 

“The scale of the development would be quite a change to Aberdour and because of the ignorance of developers, we seem to be having to uphold the conservation of the village more and more. 

“It’s just not the construction of housing in Aberdour that is an issue either. Development in the east of the kingdom also drives traffic through the village. Agents talking to communities have become desensitised and it seem that this is now just the order of the day.”

Felsham Planning and Development said the proposal would result in a “more robust, less dense and sustainably designed development instead of piecemeal development.”