1500 home plans get over first hurdle
Plans for the first phase of a 1500-home development near Perth have been given the green light by Perth and Kinross Council.
This will enable 340 homes, of which 85 will be affordable, to be built as well as supporting road infrastructure to be delivered in the first phase of a new neighbourhood at Almond Valley.
The planning consent also provides for a new local centre including commercial units and leisure facilities with sports pitches, a changing pavilion, extensive open space and new play areas.
The approved wider masterplan allows for up to 1500 houses to be built in due course and has been called “an important element of the planned growth of Perth” by planning submitters Savills.
The detailed planning application was submitted by Savills on behalf of Almond Valley Limited and Stewart Milne Homes.
Planning officials finally recommended the two applications relating to the long-discussed development project almost a full two years after they were first filed with the local authority.
The first application concerning the proposed creation of a primary vehicular access through the development site west of Perth off the A85 drew 29 objections from locals raising concerns about flooding, traffic noise and impacts on wildlife.
The second application involving the construction of 340 new homes, three retail units and a sports pavilion among other structures on land between Huntingtowerfield and Ruthvenfield drew a further 21 objections raising similar concerns. Methven and District Community Council said on several occasions during consultations they had concerns about the findings of a flood risk assessment that judged the risk to be lower than three other earlier reports prepared for the same site.
But the first phase has now been given the green light.
Alastair Wood of Savills said: “The decision to grant this detailed consent is really positive news and is the result of a significant amount of work which has been undertaken with the local authority, key stakeholders and the community council over a long period of time to set out the details of the initial phase of development. We will continue to work with council officers, local residents and key stakeholders in order to deliver the best possible start to the Almond Valley neighbourhood.
“Almond Valley Ltd is intent on providing an attractive, design-led neighbourhood which takes account of the local landscape with a focus on open spaces and woodland and the creation of new foot and cycle paths.”