MASTERTON Primary School does not need a £1.9 million extension after Fife Council admitted they got their sums wrong.

And the mistake adds up to a huge saving for the two firms who aim to build a total of 446 houses in the catchment area.

Miller Homes application for 240 new houses next to Lapwing Drive was approved last week and will contribute to a known capacity risk at Masterton PS, which the council aimed to resolve by asking the developers to pay for an additional four classrooms.

That’s been their stance for two years but they’ve now admitted there was “some double counting” in their projections for the area and the firms only need to pay for a two-classrooms extension, which will come in at a much cheaper £1 million.

A council report to the west planning committee last Wednesday stated: “The catchment area for Masterton Primary School has remained unchanged since 2014.

“Fife Council’s property services, in conjunction with education and their continual consideration of future rolls and need for a primary school in the area of the development, has reassessed the capacity requirement for Masterton PS and it is now the council’s intention to build a two-classroom extension as opposed to the four-classroom solution originally projected as being required to accommodate all house developments within the catchment area.

“The summary assessment of section 75 developer contributions for Meadowlands and Masterton, made by the council’s property services, agrees that there has been some double counting of the capacity of the Meadowlands site in the 2016 Housing Land Audit.”

Housebuilding is giving education chiefs in West Fife a headache with more children moving into new housing estates with the result that school classrooms are filling up – extensions have already been built, or proposed, at Milesmark, St Margaret’s, Pittencrieff, Touch, Townhill and Carnegie while Woodmill High is already full.

At Masterton, the issue is with three nearby sites set aside for new homes.

Taylor Wimpey already have planning permission for 116 and 90 homes at two sites, named Meadowlands and Masterton, while Miller Homes have just received the go-ahead for 240 homes on the third site, called Dover Heights.

For their two sites, Taylor Wimpey were asked to contribute £698,521 and £236,844 respectively as their share of the £1.9m cost for the four classrooms.

They have already paid money towards this but have now submitted applications, put before councillors at the same meeting, for a revision and a council report said the amounts owed should be cut to £208,916 and £64,836.

Miller Homes’ contribution has now been set at £396,220. As part of the planning conditions, they will be asked for £1.45m to help address capacity issues at secondary schools in Dunfermline too.

They’ve also agreed to pay £959,760 for transport improvements in the area.