New homes will be built after green light for development

134 houses to be constructed on land that was formerly the town colliery

A major new housing development earmarked for the north-west corner of Hill of Beath has been given the go ahead by councillors.

Members of Fife Council’s west planning committee have approved plans for 134 properties on land to the north of Dalbeath Gardens.

The undulating site is currently in agricultural use but was utilised in the late 1800s as Hill of Beath Colliery, which operated until the 1920s with the bulk of remedial work carried out in the 1960s.

The blueprint given the green light will see 134 homes built on the 5.26hectare site with an area of open space and a play area to be positioned centrally.

Access will be taken from Torbeith Gardens, with a secondary access from Torbeith Road only to be used for emergency purposes, while a core path and right of way running through the current site will be diverted and incorporated into the development.

The council’s education service had expressed informal reservations about capacity constraints at Hill of Beath Primary, but the applicant – Cambuslang-based Jim Kennedy – has agreed to provide a contribution of £435,045 towards the building of an extra classroom at the school.

Councillor Alistair Bain expressed concerns about the height of some of the homes compared to existing properties and the prospect of overlooking, and lodged a motion to replace eight twostorey units with single-storey buildings.

However, that failed to find a seconder.

And councillor Sharon Wilson said she had been minded to move refusal over access fears, but decided against doing so after council officials highlighted guidance deeming it acceptable for developments with fewer than 200 homes to only have one access in certain cases.

The committee had also heard that there will be a shortfall of some 17 car parking spaces, but officers stressed that the shortfall will be distributed throughout the site with extra on-street parking possible within the street layout.

Councillor Sharon Wilson said she had been minded to move refusal over access fears, but decided against doing so

Picture: Steven Brown. The green light has been given for 13 new homes in Hill of Beath.