Councillors have dismissed the views of planning officials to approve a north-east Fife housing development for the second time.
Officers had objected to proposals for 15 new homes at Lathockar, south of St Andrews, partly because of the presence of a single red squirrel.
When members of the north-east Fife area committee rejected this view in September, planners prepared another report, again calling for the application to be thrown out.
They were branded ”unelected bureaucrats” by one councillor who claimed democracy had been turned on its head ahead of Tuesday’s strategic planning committee in Glenrothes.
However, members there agreed with the original decision and the application was again given the go-ahead.
This time Scottish Natural Heritage had withdrawn its original objection to the development, so planners could not recommend it be refused on the grounds the site was home to protected species.
The report before the committee did, however, state that the proposal did not comply with the Fife Structure Plan or policy requirements for housing in the countryside.
There was also concern that details of a sustainable drainage system for the site had not been prepared.
Members of the area committee were angry at officers’ attempts to overturn their view, with Donald McGregor stating: ”Officers are here to advise. Elected members are the ones who take decisions. That’s sometimes forgotten.”
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Mr McGregor who is not a member of the planning committee but was given five minutes to address the meeting added: ”It causes considerable resentment to find our area committee is not considered competent to decide.”
He said the development would support local businesses and the community, which wants the houses.
However, a report before members by planning officer Kathleen Illingworth concluded: ”It is considered that the proposal does not comply with the terms of the local plan allocation, in respect of the scale of the residential proposal, the compatibility of the proposal site and the existing industrial site in terms of residential amenity, its association with industrial uses and in terms of proposed means of vehicular access.
”The degree of woodland required to be removed as part of this 15 house scheme, based on the notional plan submitted, would undoubtedly have a significant and potentially detrimental visual impact on the character of the landscape in this case.
”Given the degree of concern raised by this application, the additional information required to be submitted and the concerns raised over the principle of the development itself, the proposal cannot be supported.”
Councillor Robin Waterston moved that the application be approved, saying the new housing was ”very much needed” and wanted by everyone locally.
”The woodland is not a reason for refusal. It is not protected in any special way,” he said. ”It’s of low conservation value and its loss would not make any significant impact on local biodiversity.”
”My proposal for approval is for conditional approval. Conditions would include additional survey work as Scottish Natural Heritage have requested.”
Councillor Ron Edwards called for the officers’ recommendation to be accepted on the basis of overdevelopment, the fact that the plan was detrimental to the biodiversity of the wider area and detrimental to the visual amenity of the area.
Put to the vote, the application was approved by six votes to three.