Action group slams new homes decision
Fears drainage issues will worsen if project okayed
The leader of a group set up to scrutinise the actions of housebuilders working in Kinross has slammed the Scottish Government’s announcement it is minded to let Persimmon Homes press on with phase two of its controversial Lathro Meadows development.
Ken Whitcombe of the Lathro Action Group believes drainage problems already plaguing residents of the troubled scheme will only get worse if a government department decides to grant Persimmon Homes permission to build a further 169 homes on appeal.
The developer asked the government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) last October to consider overruling councillors who voted to refuse its application for another 169 houses during a virtual meeting of the council’s planning committee last July.
A report of handling presented to the committee recommended its members approve the application, claiming investigations carried out by the council’s environmental health and flooding teams had found no “insurmountable” issues with the drainage installed during phase one.
But members opted to go against the guidance after local councillor Callum Purves reported a sustainable urban drainage system (SuDS) was not working properly then quoted a council officer as saying they feared Scottish Water was reluctant to adopt any of the site’s drainage owing to its poor construction.
Councillors ended up listing concerns over the SuDS scheme’s functionality among their reasons to refuse the application amid concern any continuing failure of the system in the future could contribute to a perceived worsening of water quality at Loch Leven.
However, DPEA reporter David Bullya has since said in a notice of intention he is minded to uphold Persimmon Homes’ appeal as he considers these concerns have already been addressed by assessments carried out when the site was first included in the council’s local development plan (LDP).
Mr Bullya said in his notice of intention: “The issue was also addressed in [a] 2015 flood risk assessment ... and the environmental impact assessment that accompanied the original planning application.
“Consistently, the finding has been that, subject to control of the construction process and appropriate disposal of foul and surface water (the latter incorporating SuDS), the integrity of [Loch Leven] would not be threatened.”
Reacting to the reporter’s findings, Mr Whitcombe told the PA the decision, if ratified, would “exacerbate” the “serious issues” he says have “angered many longsuffering residents from the outset”.
And he claims these issues were raised with the council and Persimmon before the original planning application was granted.
He added: “The Lathro Action Group predicted there would be significant drainage problems on this site, due not only to its proximity to the North Queich, which regularly floods, but also due to the dangerously high groundwater levels and variations in surface deposits across the site, the latter two of which required more detailed investigation.
“I even attended a planning meeting to make representations about this and other difficulties before further applications were approved, but officers of the council denied that drainage would be a problem.”
Mr Whitcombe went on: “The foul water drainage system installed by the developer has consistently failed to perform to the required standard, despite extensive remedial work which has now been going on for 18 months, and has not been adopted by Scottish Water.
“Similarly, the development’s SuDSbased surface drainage system, a system which expert opinion has concluded often fails to perform to predicted standards in high groundwater areas, is still causing concern.
“Significantly, the Lathro Meadows SuDS system has not yet been fully tested by the serious adverse localised weather events which have occurred recently in the surrounding area. Ominously, forecasts are increasingly predicting these will occur much more frequently than previously thought in the coming years.”
Asked if the council wished to respond to Mr Whitcombe’s criticism, a Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson would only say: “Councillors refused planning permission [on] July 1, 2020. The Scottish Government published notification it intends to grant planning permission, and its reasons for doing so, on its website on January 22.”
James MacKay, managing director at Persimmon Homes North Scotland, remarked: “We are pleased with the Scottish Government’s decision to support our housing mix that reflects the significant demand from first time buyers in this location.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson commented: “Independent reporters, who make the majority of planning appeal decisions, are required to do so on the planning merits of the case taking full account of all the evidence submitted by parties, including representations from members of the local community.”
The spokesperson added it would not be appropriate for the government to comment any further on the case at this stage of the appeal proceedings.