Perthshire’s biggest town is bracing itself for a population boom with multi-million-pound plans lodged to create hundreds of new homes and jobs.
The Westpark expansion could see 400 houses, a primary school, supermarket and offices built across more than 70 acres of fields and woodland on the edge of Blairgowrie.
However, council bosses have threatened to reject the scheme just days after the paperwork was submitted.
Perth and Kinross Council said that developers had breached regulations by not presenting a full environmental assessment, despite earlier assurances.
Directors at the Westpark Partnership, which is spearheading the plan, has now just 28 days to lodge their appraisal – or face having the application automatically binned.
The scheme, which is earmarked for land west of Blairgowrie cottage hospital, has already received a mixed response from locals, with concerns about a surge in traffic and congestion issues.
In its submission to council officers, agents for Westpark say the scheme will be beneficial to the area.
If approved, a new supermarket – likely to be Lidl – will be created, alongside new offices and a primary school.
A spokesman said: “Economic developments of the proposed development are tangible for both the local and wider economy.
“Employment opportunities, council tax revenues, affordable housing provision and expenditure within the local area should all benefit from the development.”
However, the council has taken the unusual step of using “stop the clock” powers to put the application on hold.
A spokesman said because an environmental assessment has not been tabled, the legal requirements of Scottish planning regulations had not been met.
“The applicant’s agent was advised on May 8, 2017, of these requirements in advance of the application being submitted, but this advice has not been followed,” he said.
The council said if the paperwork wasn’t in before the deadline, the application would be refused under delegated powers.
Although there is no formal environmental document, there is an ecological assessment which deals with wildlife on the site.
No one from Westpark or architects Yeoman McAllister could be reached for comment.
Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council said there were mixed feelings about the development.
The group’s Morag Young said: “The feedback we’ve been getting is mainly positive, but there are a lot of concerns about the amount of traffic this will generate.
“Given the large volume of new homes going up, we would expect a large volume of cars on the roads.”
She said: “Although there are new offices planned as part of the site, that’s maybe not the sort of new businesses we need in Blairgowrie. We would rather see accommodation suitable for people who are looking to set up a new business, like a first step towards the high street.
“We’d also like to see new leisure facilties for Blairgowrie. We used to have things like a boating pond and crazy golf, which were always very popular and have just died out over the years.
“It’s a shame to think that the town had more attractions like that 30 years ago.”