A £25 MILLION plan to build 200 houses to the west of Crossford has been approved after an appeal to the Scottish Government.

Fife Council refused permission in September 2018 for Stewart Milne Homes to develop land south of Pitconnochie Farm after 139 letters of objection.

The housebuilder appealed the following month and, after the issue dragged on for more than a year, Scottish reporter Rob Huntley allowed the appeal and granted planning permission last week.

Stewart Milne Homes said the £25m investment would generate an additional £5.7m for the local economy and support around 100 jobs, with the new homes "suitable for first-time buyers, growing families, downsizers and young professionals".

A spokesperson said: "Throughout the design process, we’ve considered the local heritage and environment of the area and proposed the creation of a thriving new addition to the community of Crossford.

“The development, through careful and sympathetic design of the public spaces, streets and abundance of landscaping, will become a place of unique character, soul and pride and will integrate sensitively with the existing built and natural environment.”

Among the objections to the plans were concerns about coalescence with Cairneyhill, the impact on Crossford Primary School, traffic, flooding, road safety, loss of green space and the land not being allocated for housing in the local development plan.

In March, Mr Huntley issued a notice of intention that he was minded to approve.

Earlier this month, Doug Hay, chair of Crossford Community Council, said they feared the reporter would use a "planning loophole which allows him to overrule and ignore the local plan".

He added: “The reporter has formed the opinion that there is a shortage of housing land supply – by three times – denying existence of accurate up-to-date data showing the exact opposite."

Mr Hay said the "reporter should have done his job and dismissed this appeal on the same grounds as the previous three reporters have done concluding that ‘the site should not be allocated for residential development’".

Around 25 per cent of the new homes will be affordable which the firm said would help to "address the critical need for new housing in the area".

This was disputed by politicians as SESplan 2 – which sets out how many houses are needed in the South-East Scotland area – said that Fife did not need anywhere near as many new homes as that stipulated in the original SESplan.

The more-up-to-date figures were expected to be used when considering planning applications but SESplan 2 was then rejected by the Scottish Government.

In a further blow for the council, and one which could have wider ramifications given the scale of housebuilding going on in West Fife, they had asked for £2,428 per house to pay for transport improvements in the Dunfermline area, on the basis that people moving into the the new homes would put additional strain on the network.

However, the reporter said this was "not justified" and he was "unable to conclude ... that there would be a sufficient connection between the proposed development and the strategic transport interventions to justify a requirement that each dwelling should contribute to the strategic transportation fund as the council sought".

Pam Ewen, the council's interim chief officer in planning, said: "We are disappointed by the reporter's decision and are giving further consideration to this matter."

Stewart Milne Homes said their development would "blend in with the natural woodland" and include six hectares of open green space, as well as new paths, an "attractive pond area" and a commitment to invest in new trees, hedges and planting.

Residents in the new community are expected to "generate an additional £4m each year in gross household expenditure" which would "support the creation of 30 new jobs in retail, leisure, hospitality and other service-related businesses in the area".

Planning permission was granted subject to 15 conditions, including a number of transport improvements.