An ambitious masterplan for the east of Dunfermline is up for approval next week.
Councillors will be asked to back the major development, including a 58-acre super-campus which will house replacements for Woodmill and St Columbas high schools and a new Fife College base.
Plans for a children’s nursery, a 90-bedroom care home and 225 houses also form part of the huge expansion at the Freescale site in Dunlin Drive.
A pub, coffee drive-thru and a 16-pump petrol station are also on the cards.
The land has lain vacant for 13 years after repeatedly failing to attract promised job opportunities.
Landowner Shepherd Offshore is seeking planning permission in principle to develop the entire 122-acre site.
Fife Council planners have recommended it be approved subject to a number of conditions.
These include a clause requiring the company to pay compensation for the loss of employment land.
Arguments for and against the development
Planning officers say the proposal is acceptable in terms of the land use mix and that the principle of development has already been determined there.
However, 82 objections have been received.
These include a letter from the Calais Woods Conservation Group which is concerned about the effect the development will have on the ancient woodland.
They are in favour of the new learning campus.
Instead, their objections centre on the loss of green space, an increase in traffic and air pollution.
And they have called for communities to have more say over significant planning applications.
Other objections hinge on the impact of moving schools from existing local communities.
Those against the proposal also say there is no demand for a petrol station or hotel and they fear it could create road safety issues.
But others support the plan and say the replacement high schools are long overdue.
They feel the super-campus in particular will benefit the community and the children of east Dunfermline.
The new high schools
If approved, the new high schools will form part of the first learning campus of its kind in Scotland.
In total, there will be 2,700 pupils on one site.
Each school will retain its own identity within the building and have their own dedicated classrooms.
However, they will share some accommodation including assembly halls, dining space and outdoor education facilities.
A public consultation is under way, with the first meeting held at the end of April.
The consultation continues until May 28.
What the planners say
Council planning officers say the masterplan as a whole should be approved.
More detailed applications will be submitted for each specific aspect of the plan later.
In a report to go before councillors on Wednesday, case officer Katherine Pollock says: “Sufficient justification has been provided for the new land uses proposed and the principle of educational development at this site is already accepted.
“The additional educational land is therefore considered to be justified and reasonable and would not have any significant adverse impact on the principal aim of the site or its delivery.”
She added: “On balance, the proposal is acceptable and in accordance with the development plan.”
Councillors will discuss the paper before voting on whether to approve it.