New homes next to Canmore Primary School on Aberdour Road

Campion Homes, who are based in the city, got the go-ahead for a sheltered housing complex on an area of grassland between Aberdour Road and Evershed Drive.

The four-storey block of flats in the northern part of the site will include a residents lounge, warden's office and a cafe to be run by the council’s health and social care team.

Councillors on the west and central planning committee highlighted the number of parking spaces - 15 - and size of garden ground fell well short of what the council asks for in their guidelines.

The site is an unkempt area of grassland between Aberdour Road and Evershed Drive. (Image: Fife Council) Planning service manager Mary Stewart said: "We must always bear in mind that guidance is just that."

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She conceded that the amount of open space was "significantly below" what the council asks for but added that neither issue would be grounds to refuse the application.

Ms Stewart said: "We do feel we have got an acceptable layout for the site which takes account of the need for the site to be viable, the demand for housing in the area and the need to provide parking and open space."

This is what the block of flats will look like. (Image: Fife Council) The new affordable apartments will provide independent living accommodation for single occupants or families.

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She added that there was "quite a dramatic change in levels" from Evershed Drive to Aberdour Road and said the site has "significant development constraints" due to the slope.

The building will be 15.5 metres in height - just over 50 feet - and the plans also include new footpaths, retaining walls, landscaping, drainage and renewable energy infrastructure, such as air source heat pumps.

Vehicle access will be from Evershed Drive.

A look at the site as it is now, from Aberdour Road. It's between Canmore Primary School and the Tesco Express. (Image: Google Maps) There were nine objections, including concerns about overshadowing, increased traffic, overlooking of the school, construction noise and parking.

Councillors were told that overshadowing in this instance was "just not an issue", as the nearest properties were between 40m and 60m away, and the levels of traffic generated by the development would be low.

Ms Stewart added that none of the objections "outweigh the presumptions in favour of development afforded by the development plan" and there were no issues that couldn't be addressed through the application of conditions.