Community leaders in Kinross have become embroiled in a major planning row with Perth and Kinross Council.
The members of Kinross-shire Civic Trust have spent months preparing a dossier of grievances surrounding Persimmon Homes’ plans for the former site of Kinross High School.
Trust Secretary Eileen Thomas said there had been a “gross failure” on the part of the council to apply a “fair and balanced process”.
Reports prepared by senior council officers recommended councillors approve the plans, but Mrs Thomas said they were “biased and misleading” in favour of the developers.
Two letters of formal complaint have now been lodged with the local authority, which has said it will investigate.
In particular, the trust has accused the council of trying to bury a high-profile objection to the Persimmon plan from its own conservation officer.
The initial report questioned the need for demolition of the most historic part of the school and criticised the design of the housing development, saying it would adversely affect the community.
Those comments were, however, missing from the publicly available documents on the council’s website and were not mentioned within the report submitted to elected members.
They rejected the plans despite the urging of officers.
In addition, the trust has questioned whether Perth and Kinross Council has adequately dealt with its perceived conflict of interest over the development site, within the town’s conservation area.
It owns the site and stands to make a significant sum from the sale to Persimmon, whose purchase is subject to planning permission.
Mrs Thomas said: “In common with elected councillors and local representative bodies we have become increasingly concerned and alarmed by the procedures and methods applied by PKC when dealing with planning applications.
“The two planning applications referred to were submitted by Persimmon Homes and were put before the council on May 14 this year with an officer recommendation to approve.
“This action has brought matters to a critical point and has further undermined public confidence in council management procedures.
“The council has a financial interest in the development site, being the owners of the land, and at the same time are in the position to assess the application with a potential to grant approval.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokeswoman said the local authority had received the complaints and would be investigating.
Persimmon Homes, which is exempt from criticism within the trust’s letters, is continuing to pursue planning permission for the Kinross site.
Amended plans are now being prepared and a second application will be made in the coming months.