IT'S dragged on for more than five years but plans for 140 new homes next to the old Wellwood Primary School are set to be approved finally on appeal.

Ominvale Ltd, based in Nottinghamshire, submitted their application in January 2017 to build on 14 acres of land north of Leadside Crescent.

Fife Council refused the proposals in October 2019 but their decision – which the developer slammed as "unlawful" – is about to be overturned by the Scottish Government.

Last week, case officer Karen Cowie, from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division, gave an update on behalf of reporter Trevor Croft to both parties.

She wrote: "He notes that progress is being made and that parties are now much closer together, albeit that further discussions are being held to try and bridge the differences.

"In order to bring some formality to the situation and start to bring the case towards a close, he considers that it would be appropriate for him to issue a notice of intention regarding the outcome of the appeal.

"This would indicate that he is minded to grant planning permission subject to conditions and to the completion of an agreement under the terms of Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, as amended."

Omnivale had baulked at the council's demands for developer contributions towards transport improvements in the area, which could be more than £550,000, and money for education.

They reckoned it was "unjustified" and appealed to the Scottish Government for a final ruling.

A hearing was scheduled, originally for July 2020, but it was postponed several times due to the pandemic and was held eventually at the Garvock House Hotel in November last year.

Documents submitted last week to the DPEA, on behalf of Omnivale, said: "Progress of sorts has been made and information on both transport and education has been exchanged.

"However, we have not yet reached a stage where a finalised position has been agreed on either."

Ominvale have agreed to pay an "appropriate contribution" towards the cost of a new Wellwood Primary School but have now questioned whether they should be helping to fund a two-classroom extension at St Margaret's PS, they had accepted responsibility previously.

And they are willing to pay towards increased capacity at Queen Anne High School but have still to agree a "suitable figure" with the council.

Fife Council service manager Kevin Treadwell confirmed that discussions were continuing on the financial contribution needed to accommodate the impact of the new development.

The application is for planning permission in principle and the plot is east of the A823 road, opposite the Rennies bus depot.

FIFEplan, the council’s local development plan which maps out what can be built and where, said the site could accommodate 100 homes but Omnivale believe the capacity is higher.

However, the main disagreement is the company's insistence that they shouldn't have to cough up for transport improvements, such as the £20 million-plus Northern Link Road (NLR).

It's a bypass running between Halbeath and Milesmark that will serve the new housing estates in the north of Dunfermline and take traffic away from the town centre.

The council’s stance is that developers must pay for transport and education improvements in the area on the basis that the homes they’re building, and the residents who move into them, will be adding to traffic issues and school capacities.

Omnivale argued that the increase in traffic from their site would be “negligible” and that having to pay towards the NLR too would amount to “double-counting”. They also didn't want to provide land for the bypass, which is set to run through the site.