An ambitious masterplan for a former “white elephant” factory site in Fife has been submitted for planning permission.
Up to 450 houses, a 90-bed care home, and a pub and restaurant are proposed for the former Hyundai/Freescale site in Dunfermline, which has been vacant for 13 years.
A drive-through coffee shop and a large petrol station are also on the cards.
The plan includes a £180 million super-campus comprising a new Fife College building and replacements for both Woodmill and St Columbas high schools.
This is the subject of a separate application, submitted by Fife Council last year.
The wider proposal replaces a previous masterplan for the land in Dunfermline’s eastern expansion, which was approved in 2014.
It included a renewable energy plant, a hotel, shops and offices.
However, despite six years of marketing, no investors came forward.
Developer Shepherd Offshore says it is actively pursuing companies interested in the latest application.
Mostly vacant
Shepherd bought the Dunlin Drive site in 2010.
While 225 houses have since been built, the land is still mostly vacant.
The company is seeking planning permission in principle and says hundreds of jobs could be in the pipeline.
Detailed plans on the designs for each building will be brought forward at a later stage.
The first of these is expected to be the Fife College masterplan.
This site has lain vacant for 13 years.”
Colliers International
Dozens of people have objected amid fears the development would threaten the ancient Calais Muir woodland.
Concerns have also been raised about parking, increased traffic, wildlife and the environment.
‘The site is in a strategic position’
Colliers International, which is marketing the site, said it was surrounded by a “patchwork of open space and land at various stages of development”.
The result is a “fairly fragmented environment”, it said.
The company added: “The site is in a strategic position to act as the missing link, creating connections through to the surrounding areas.
“This site has lain vacant for 13 years due to the restrictions on the use classes permitted.”
Failed history
The land has repeatedly failed to deliver promised job opportunities.
It hit the headlines in 1997 when South Korean company Hyundai built a microchip plant there.
However, an economic crisis in the Far East dashed hopes of 800 jobs.
Motorola then bought the plant for £1.3 billion in 2000.
But it was branded a white elephant as electronics manufacturing jobs were sent to Eastern Europe and Asia.
The factory was dismantled without making a single microchip and the site has been on the market ever since.