Hopes that proposals for more than 1,400 homes in Cupar would finally be shelved have been dashed.
Scottish Government reporters have ruled that the Cupar North site should remain in Fife’s local development plan.
Furthermore, they have potentially set back construction of a relief road for the town by another three years – which many believe is no longer required anyway – after shifting the deadline for its delivery.
The reporters’ stance on Cupar North – which has been in the pipeline since 2005 – was revealed in their recommended modifications following a lengthy examination of FIFEplan.
Ceri Williams, of the Campaign Against Cupar North, said: “It is disappointing that the reporter has based the decision to keep Cupar North in the FIFEplan on misleading and incomplete information from Fife Council.”
He said the infrastructure for such massive development was simply not there and country lanes around Cupar would be unable to absorb the extra traffic.
A new primary school would be needed immediately and roads in the centre of Cupar would be closed for installation of a new drainage system, resulting in businesses folding, he claimed.
He said: “Fife Council has simply decided that it is going to ignore the overwhelming and genuine community concern about a development that is now 11 years behind schedule.”
Reporters also decreed that the relief road should be built before the 600th house is occupied, as proposed by developers, instead of five years after the first house is first built as the council wanted.
Cupar North Consortium – the group of developers seeking planning consent for the project – estimate that would be eight years from commencement.
Mr Williams said people in the community fear that once 600 houses are built, developers faced with a multi-million pound bill for the bypass could walk away.
He said: “This will leave Fife Council with egg on their face, but the real losers will be the community in Cupar, who will have to live with the mess that the council is rail-roading through with breath-taking arrogance.”
However, the reporters said the council was aware of the importance of ensuring infrastructure services were provided, including educational facilities, healthcare, transport links and drainage.
It said a co-ordinated approach essential for a project of such scale and complexity had been taken and the site’s inclusion in the plan was justified.
Iain Innes, managing director of Persimmon Homes North Scotland which is part of the consortium, said: “We welcome the recognition from the Scottish Government that the Consortium has made considerable progress with the Cupar North project.
“We also welcome the acceptance that the Cupar relief road is required upon completion of the consortium’s 600th new home.
“We can now look forward to the positive determination of our planning application and to building much needed family housing in Cupar.”