Perth is poised for further expansion, with contentious new plans for housing off Glasgow Road.
Construction firm A&J Stephen wants to build nearly 50 homes across a 10-acre plot on the southern edge of the city, at an area known as West Woodlands.
The company won outline planning permission for the development five years ago and has now returned with detailed bids for the three phases of the scheme.
If approved, a total of 20 homes will be built in the first stage, then a further 17 and finally nine in phase three. Most of the site – all but one house – will be accessed by a new road from the A93.
However, some locals have raised concerns about the impact of the project on nearby homes and roads.
Signs have been posted around the area by opponents, urging others to submitted comments to council planning officers by the August 9 deadline.
Opponents have raised concerns about congestion and road safety. The anonymous poster states: “The path for walkers and cyclists will face access issues and major disruption to make way for the new road.”
It adds: “This is a small area for such a large number of homes.”
One resident, who didn’t want to be identified, said that many people living on the edge of the site were upset by the proposals. “This is going to cause real problems for us,” she said. “Because its being put through as three separate planning applications for smaller developments, it maybe doesn’t look that significant – but at the end of the day its nearly 50 houses on a fairly small bit of land, right next to our homes.”
No one from A&J Stephen was available for comment, but a transport statement submitted to Perth and Kinross Council aims to allay fears over traffic and access problems.
It states: “Analysis of the development traffic impact on the A93 demonstrates an impact of around 1%. This impact is negligible.”
Developers say that the new A93 access point will work well during morning and evening peak periods.
“The report considers that the proposed development site can integrate within the existing area and the available sustainable transport links,” the statement concludes.
It goes on to state that the new homes will “not have a significant impact on the existing local and strategic road network”.
Local councillor Willie Wilson said: “The main issues with this application appear to be road access, density and the types of houses.
“The developer has already hosted a consultation with members of the public and I hope that the planning applications will reflect some of the feedback they received.”
