Go-ahead given for 60 new houses in town

Nearly 60 new homes will be built in Lochgelly after Fife planners gave the new development a tentative go-ahead.

Council officers have issued approval for the 58 new homes within the Avenues development in a draft paper published yesterday.

Local developer Easy Living Homes will construct the houses as part of its new neighbourhood to the north of the Avenue in the Fife town.

The Glenrothes-based firm was previously given permission to build 71 houses on the western edge of the site and the first residents have already moved in.

It brands the site as a “vision of luxury living in a striking panoramic setting”.

In all, 129 homes are being constructed on the site, in excess of the 90 it is earmarked for in Fife’s local development plan.

Planners have justified the extra numbers by stating the 90-home limit was only “indicative”.

They also say the wider benefits associated with building homes outweighed any concerns of overdevelopment.

A full handling report justifying the decisions against the council’s full range of planning policies is yet to be published.

However, officers have confirmed that Easy Living will need to pay Fife Council a further £261,000 in developer contributions as part of a legal obligation known as a Section 75 agreement.

The money will be used to bolster local education, transport, open space and affordable housing demands exacerbated by the new builds.

It takes the total payments the firm will make to the council to more than £330,000, at an average of £2,579 per home.