Council chiefs have defended an £11,000-per-house education levy for a three-home development on the Dundee/Angus border.
The five-figure contribution will be used to extend accommodation for primary and secondary pupils in the Sidlaws area as fears continue to mount over school rolls coming under increasing pressure from new housing.
Angus councillors gave a unanimous green light to the Craigmill Lodge plan put forward by Grants Caravans, a renewal of a lapsed approval from 2012.
Strathmartine Community Council opposed the plan over concerns of ribbon development and the wider impact of the housing approval already given for more than 200 homes at the former Strathmartine Hospital site.
The education bond will be part of a legally binding agreement, but one committee member questioned the size of payment for such a small project.
Planning officials said that although the site is not allocated for development and near the now called-in hospital site, the proposal complied with policies.
Approval for six caravan pitches for holiday use has also been granted for the site and in their submission to the council the applicants said development opportunities were still being explored.
Forfar councillor Lynne Devine said: “£11,000 for each property seems really quite a lot when we are only talking about three houses.
“Is this a set figure or will it be looked at on a case to case basis?”
Planning official Iain Mitchell said: “The same requirement was made by our education colleagues in respect of Strathmartine Hospital.
“It is really a matter for them to propose and we would require to take a view on it. They have estimated that this is necessary because of the education requirements and put it forward as a Section 75 agreement.”
The applicants were not available for comment.