Senior council officials have been accused of burying a high-profile objection to controversial plans for a major housing development in the heart of Kinross.
The Courier understands that letters sent to Perth and Kinross Council express concerns that a conservation officer was silenced after expressing her strong opposition to the proposals.
They would see housebuilder Persimmon Homes granted permission to raze the former Kinross High School and create 102 homes in its place.
Despite significant opposition, planners are recommending elected members approve the project at Wednesday’s meeting of the development management committee.
In a letter to senior colleagues the officer questioned the need for demolition and criticised the design of the housing development, saying it would adversely affect the community.
However, the report councillors will consider contains no mention of these concerns and they no longer feature in the publicly available documents on the council’s website.
The local authority has said that the objections of the officer were “withdrawn” after amendments were made to the plan and “new information” became available.
Individuals and groups including the Kinross-shire Civic Trust have contacted the council to voice concern.
The trust has described the local authority’s actions as “highly irregular” and has demanded answers from chief executive Bernadette Malone.
Perth and Kinross Council could make as much as £3.5 million from the sale of the site to Persimmon.
Opponents have questioned the decision to demolish the school on the grounds that it is not financially viable to incorporate the building into the scheme together with the style and density of housing.
Their views initially appeared to be shared by the conservation officer, who said: “The potential for integrating the historical elements of the existing building complex into any proposed development should be investigated prior to consideration of clearing the site.
“The proposed development is of insufficient quality of design and materials to meet legislative requirements to enhance the conservation area and fails to recognise the area’s historic and urban context.
“The standard, suburban building type and density of the site layout is in no respect a contextual design response and can only detract from the quality and interest of the conservation area.
“On these grounds, I strongly object to the development proposals.”
According to the council, those objections have since been withdrawn and so do not feature within the report to elected members. The officer yesterday (MONDAY) declined to comment on the matter.
A spokeswoman said: “The council’s conservation officer has been consulted with throughout the planning application process and their recommendations regarding the application have been acknowledged and considered.
“While there was an initial objection to the application, once further information including an amended plan became available, the objection was withdrawn and therefore not included in the report to be determined by the Development Management Committee.”
Kinross-shire Civic Trust’s letter expresses dissatisfaction with the decision, with a letter by secretary Eileen Thomas remarking: “We regard the removal of the conservation officer’s report from the planning portal as highly irregular and in our view this action has brought the integrity of the planning system into disrepute.
“This is a major application on a large site (2.91 hectares) in a Conservation Area, yet the council’s conservation team is not listed as a consultee in either planning report.”
Objectors have called on the committee to defer consideration of the two applications until greater consideration has been given to the potential for the building to be retained, while Mid Scotland and Fife MSP has called upon the Scottish Government to “call in” the proposals.
Away from the controversy, Persimmon Homes is hopeful of getting its £15m plans under way, in the belief that the development will provide much-needed new family homes.
East Scotland managing director Jim Kirkpatrick said: “We are working hard to deliver enough new homes to meet the needs of the growing number of people looking for homes across the Perth and Kinross area.”
He believes the scheme will help create jobs and help Kinross attract new business and investment.
The developer has also pledged a near £750,000 investment for the area, including contributions to education provision, play areas and community green space.