The company behind controversial plans to use “pods” as accommodation for staff working on the new Forth bridge and aircraft carriers at Rosyth claim they are vital to the success of the two projects.
Temporary cabin-like homes previously used for workers at the Olympic Games in London last year will be erected near the town’s dockyard if the green light is given by a Scottish Government reporter.
As it continued its bid to erect the modular residential units in Rosyth by lodging an appeal to the Government, Capital and Provincial (Rosyth) Ltd argued there was a pressing need for temporary accommodation for those employed to construct the Queensferry Crossing and the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carriers.
Fife councillors refused planning consent for the temporary pods for up to 200 people in the town’s Castle Road for the second time in August, despite a reduction in the number proposed from 63 to 49.
However, Capital and Provincial is now seeking the go-ahead from Scottish ministers for the development on the site of the demolished Forth Families Club.
Its agent Turley Associates has challenged the grounds for refusal given by the west Fife planning committee that noise and disturbance would signficantly harm residential amenity and that the form, scale, layout, density and finish of the grey-clad pods would fail to make a positive contribution to the immediate environment.
Turley Associates told the Government’s Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals: “The temporary use now proposed, driven by short term requirements of investment in nationally significant infrastructure, provides an interim enhancement.
“It will provide an innovative solution to a pressing need, temporary accommodation.”
People living in the pods, it said, would spend up to £1.175 million a year in local shops and on local services and would generate council tax revenue of £290,000 over five years, contributing to the local and wider Fife economy.
Turley Associates also claimed the 14-square metre, flat-roofed pods would be of significantly higher quality than the single-storey brick building which they would replace.
The self-contained one and two-person units equipped with single or bunk beds, kitchens and en suite toilet and shower rooms would be set out in double rows with walkways between each block.
Turley Associates pointed out that the council planning officer who assessed the proposal and recommended councillors approve it, raised no concern about noise and disturbance affecting neighbours and that an assessment found noise levels would be inaudible in the nearest homes.
Despite this, it said, Capital and Provincial had proposed a scheme to prevent noise transmission.
The pods would be in place for up to five years, with the bridge due for completion in 2016 and the second carrier in 2018, but the proposal has been fought by many people who live in the area, with 30 objections and a petition with 98 signatures presented to Fife Council at the last stage of the planning process.
Some claim the pods would be unsuitable for purpose and that the site is far from ideal.Issues raised ranged from fear of anti-social behaviour to the impact on local services.
Rosyth Community Council is due to meet tonight but secretary Joan Friel said she expected it would fight the appeal.
She said: “We have backed the community down at the dockyard. Everyone is worried about the long-term impact.”
The appeal is to be determined on the basis of a site visit, with the target of a decision being made by early January.