A plan for almost 300 houses on the edge of Inverkeithing has been rejected by councillors who agreed it would create apparent coalescence between the town and Dalgety Bay.
Taylor Wimpey sought permission in principle for a residential 295-house development at Spencerfield.
To the delight of campaign group Save Spencerfield, however, its latest attempt to win consent was rejected by Fife Council’s west planning committee.
Group member Jane Griffin said: “This would have turned the coastline into one giant housing estate, which wouldn’t be a pleasant sight coming across the Forth Bridge which has just been granted world heritage status.”
She also said local services would have been unable to cope with the increased population.
“I hope that this will be an end to it as this has been rumbling on for years with different applications,” she added.
Fellow campaigner Sven Sonander said agricultural land such as that at Spencerfield must be protected.
He said: “The legacy of future generations to grow their own food locally and maintain jobs in the food-processing industries must be protected from the actions of irresponsible builders such as Taylor Wimpey.”
Inverkeithing Community Council was among more than 175 objectors to the scheme.
Treasurer Dawn Keillor said: “People will be pleased this has been turned down.”
As well as the threat of coalescence, she said the list of concerns was “endless” and included the number of houses, the impact on the infra- structure, additional traffic and proximity of traffic to Inverkeithing High School.
The council’s development service recommended the application be refused, stating that it would “extend the urban fringe” of Inverkeithing towards Dalgety Bay and create “visual confusion” between the two settlements.
Councillors also accepted the argument it would result in the loss of a significant area of prime agricultural land and was premature ahead of examination of the FIFEplan local development plan.
Detailed planning consent for 39 houses within the site was also rejected.
A previous application for planning permission in principle for 450 houses was refused by the council and a Scottish Government reporter following appeal.