Councillor calls for the area to adopt policy of Cornish town

Fears have been expressed that many areas of the East Neuk face losing their schools, surgeries and shops if villages fail to attract more families.

Local councillor Bill Porteous is one of those who hopes the area can follow in the footsteps of St Ives in Cornwall, which has successfully imposed a ban on new-build homes becoming second homes.

In Elie and Earlsferry specifically, there have been concerns raised about plans by the Elie Estate Trust to build 81 houses and other facilities on the outskirts of the villages – with locals expressing reservations that many of the properties will be snapped up as second homes.

Mr Porteous, a Liberal Democrat representative for the area, said the St Ives approach could well go a long way to cutting the number of East Neuk properties lying empty for months on end. He said: “It is not the fact they are second homes, but that they are empty most of the year.

“I am calling for all-party support for a moratorium on large-scale residential building projects across the whole ward to allow the communities, developers and Fife Council time to consider the long-term future of this beautiful and vibrant area.”

Bill Porteous