Well-known housebuilders have been ordered to stop carrying out extensive groundworks for a 300-home development in Kinross after it was revealed they didn’t have permission to do so.
Contractors employed by Persimmon Homes have been digging up land west of Lathro Meadows adjacent to the A922 over the course of the last week, leading to JCBs and dumper trucks being on site and claims by householders that they have left mounds of earth beside people’s houses.
The move, which resulted in Perth and Kinross Council issuing a temporary stop notice to the contractors earlier this week, has incensed some residents who also feel the local authority are not adhering to their local development plan.
A concerned resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had witnessed four dumper trucks and three JCBs at the site since Tuesday of last week, and he claimed they worked throughout the weekend.
“Persimmon Homes do not have permission from the council to allow this kind of work to take place,” he said.
“This plan has met with a lot of opposition locally and many of us feel the information contained in a brochure issued by Persimmon Homes does not match the original plan.”
He continued: “The proposal that the council looked at had buffer zones near my house but this brochure shows houses being built on this piece of land, which I’m not happy about at all.
“In addition, there are serious drainage issues with this site. Many residents are worried about silt coursing down into the nearby Loch Leven.
”Some people have had mounds of earth left near their gardens, which is awful.”
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council confirmed they had been “made aware of the issue.”
“A temporary stop notice has been served,” she said.
Iain Innes, managing director at Persimmon Homes North Scotland, commented: “We halted work immediately on our Lathro Meadows development in Kinross at the request of Perth and Kinross Council and we will continue to work alongside them to restart works as early as possible.
“The development will bring much-needed two, three, four and five bedroom homes to the town as well as affordable housing and we will recommence works on the council’s go ahead.”
Lathro Meadows has already faced opposition from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) who objected on the basis that the development could put buildings and people at risk of flooding. Kinross Community Council also objected, stating they felt the number of houses was “too dense” for the area.
