Fife Council refuse plans for new home on edge of Culross
Fife Council had already rejected Paul Clarke’s application to build on garden ground of a property at Veere Park but he took the case to the Fife Planning Review Body.
However his only recourse now is to appeal to the Scottish Government after the convener said it wasn’t “remotely appropriate” to overturn the reason for refusal.
Councillor David Barratt said: “The applicant’s own flood risk assessment shows that the site itself floods between a metre and a metre and a half within the boundary of the site, and the adjacent road would flood between half a metre and one metre so it would not be safely accessible or escapable in the event of a flood.
The plot is between Main Street and the railway line to Longannet. (Image: Google Maps)
“So for those reasons I don’t think it would be remotely appropriate to overturn this particular reason for refusal.
“It is unfortunate because I think this could potentially be a good housing plot.
“We’ve gone through all the other reasons for refusal and dismissed them, but on this one I don’t think that we can.” Formerly part of the garden ground of 6 Veere Park the site is just outside Low Valleyfield, between Main Street and the railway line that runs to Longannet.
Mr Clarke, of Armadale, applied to build a one and half storey, three-bedroom home with three car parking spaces and a turning area.
There were four objections.
A previous application to build on the site was refused by the council in 2006, and again on appeal to the Scottish Government, and another bid in 2016 was also knocked back.
Councillors were told that Network Rail have plans to increase rail freight running on the railway next to the site, although there are no specific proposals or timescales at present.
The main reasons for refusal this time were residential amenity, with concerns about noise from the railway line, the garden ground being too small, the visual impact, road safety, overdevelopment and flood risk. The review body discussed the case and found each reason could be addressed through conditions, with the exception of the flood risk.
As a result they upheld the council’s original decision to refuse planning permission.