A community council has hit back at claims objectors to the controversial North Scone project are now registering an interest in buying homes within the development.
Scone and District Community Council (SDCC) has responded to the statement by builders A & J Stephen, saying the reason people are joining the mailing list is because of the lack of information about the development available to the public.
The comments by the housebuilder were made as the row continues over the H29 North Scone development which attracted 900 hundred objections to the original plan and more than 40 further objections to the first phase, 42-home planning application.
The community council has maintained the developers have not answered conditions set out in the original application.
Last month a spokesperson for A & J Stephen’s said: “With regards to Scone and District Community Council, they are entitled to their opinion like any group or individual and their views will be taken into account by Perth and Kinross Council as part of the statutory process.
“When it comes to the wider public, we now have a growing mailing list of people who are interested in purchasing a home on the development and this list includes people who objected to both the outline planning application and the detailed application.”
The community council argues objectors registering an interest are trying to find out more information about the development, rather than having a genuine interest in buying a house within the project.
A spokesperson said: “Scone and District Community Council has been told by two Scone residents that they have registered interest to find out what is actually happening with the development, as information has been slow to be released.
“And it is unlikely that three weeks after comments close that this register of interest is anything other than this.
“Isn’t it an interesting way for the developer to spend his time, going online to the Perth and Kinross Council website and cross referencing 900 names and addresses with his received registers of interest?”
The SDCC have also argued it is representing the views of the village.
The spokesperson said: “SDCC did not express any opinion at all until after a village-wide questionnaire was carried out, then it expressed the opinion of the folk who live in Scone.
“All 2,370 households in Scone received the questionnaire, 50% replied and 96% were against this development.
“Further, the planning application for H29 received over 900 objections which is unheard of within Perth and Kinross.
“This development remains hugely unpopular with the villagers in Scone, where infrastructure is insufficient for this build, and SDCC will continue to represent the villagers’ views, which will be sought out as always by questionnaires, polls, open meetings, comments on Social Media and community council meetings.”
