More Lathro action taken

Perth and Kinross Council has had to take further enforcement action against Persimmon Homes for failing to protect trees dotted around its largest development site in Kinross.

The local authority has served another breach of planning condition notice on the developer, requiring its workers to“erect tree protection measures”around its Lathro Farm site.

The notice states the condition breached had been imposed on Persimmon Homes through its initial consent to build up to 300 homes at the site and the company has no right of appeal.

The condition was supposed to oblige the company to put protection around the trees“prior to any works commencing on site”, and then to keep it“in place until all construction is completed”.

PKC has now instructed Persimmon Homes to“erect tree protection measures”around the site which it says must now “be retained for the duration of the construction of the development”.

The notice further warned the company:“Any construction relating to the development approved required within the construction exclusion zone should be submitted in writing to the planning authority at least 21 days before those works are to take place, and no work should be undertaken without the prior written agreement of the planning authority.

“Any construction relating to the development approved must be carried out under the supervision of a qualified independent arborist.”

It is the second time PKC has had to take enforcement action against Persimmon Homes for a breach of this kind at the Lathro Farm site after taking exactly the same kind of action against it for breaching the exact same condition two years ago.

The local authority also had to take enforcement action against Springfield Properties last month for a similar breach relating to a smaller area it is working on within the wider area.

Elsewhere a spokesperson for Roseanna Cunningham MSP told the PA this week she had still to sit down with the company’s Stephen Profili after she wrote to him last month to arrange a meeting to find out what’s being done to address a range of complaints she’s received about the development from residents.

The SNP MSP told Mr Profili she’d received“many, many”complaints from people about the condition of their new homes and not being able to get completion certificates for them.

A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said:“A breach of condition fixed penalty notice was issued by PKC on September 30 in relation to a panel of tree protection fencing which had blown over.

“Contact was made with the council’s planning enforcement officer and the fencing reinstated.”

“Persimmon Homes is committed to working in partnership with PKC and the local community to prevent such instances from reoccurring.”