PLANS for a new house at a former sawmill near Crossgates have again been refused by Fife Council.

Permission was granted for nine homes on the site in 2019 but moves to add another one have been cut down.

James Thomson, of Whitehill Sawmill, which is off Mill Farm Road between Crossgates and Aberdour, had sought consent for a two-storey house in the yard area.

This was a revised application after the council refused a similar plan in January last year.

Two representations were received on behalf of the owners of a nearby dog kennels, who expressed concerns about noise.

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Council officers from the environmental health public protection team recommended refusal as they "do not consider that the effects of dog barking from the kennels on the proposed amenity space have been adequately assessed".

The transportation service also opposed the plans on road safety grounds, pointing out that the proposal "would result in an intensification of vehicle turning movement at an access (when it is eventually constructed) which is located on an unrestricted road outwith the established built-up area".

A council report described the plot - around 300 square metres in size - as "relatively small and irregularly shaped" and said the property would have an "underscaled and cramped appearance, with poor visual connectivity" with the cluster of other homes.

It added that, if approved, the proposal would have a "significant adverse impact on the character of the Cullaloe Hills and Coast Local Landscape Area", and said there were also issues with flood risk and water management.