BUILDING work is set to resume at Taylor Wimpey's sites in Dunfermline and Inverkeithing.

The developer also said that they'll look at dates for when construction can start at Halbeath, where permission for 1,400 new homes is still to be finalised.

Work was under way at Meadowlands, off Aberdour Road in Dunfermline, where 116 houses are being built, and at Spencerfield in Inverkeithing, where 295 homes will be erected, before lockdown saw sites closed down.

Gavin Hamilton, managing director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, told the Press this week: “Following the Scottish Government’s announcement on May 21 to ease restrictions on non-essential construction work from May 28, we are making our preparations for a sensible and well-managed, slow but steady and safe return to permitted construction activities at our sites in Dunfermline and Inverkeithing, implementing strict social distancing protocols based on the latest Scottish Government and Health Protection Scotland guidelines.

"Work has not yet started at our development in Halbeath, and we will review this in line with our other operations locally when our site teams can restart construction.

"This approach is consistent with our approach for all sites across Scotland.”

Planning permission in principle was granted by Fife Council in January 2019 for 1,400 houses, and a £10 million primary school, on 80 hectares of farmland between Halbeath and Kingseat. There were 153 objections.

However, a legal agreement has yet to be reached with dates and deadlines pushed back repeatedly. A detailed planning application will also need to be approved before work can start.

Kevin Treadwell, service manager at Fife Council, said: "Planning permission for the 1,400-house development at Halbeath was approved by the planning committee, subject to the conclusion of a legal agreement.

"Due to the scale and complexity of the development, this does take some time. Once this has been registered, planning permission will be formally issued."

As well as the homes and school, the plans include land for retail, employment and community facilities, while the £14m-plus Northern Link Road (NLR), a bypass to serve the new housing estates and take traffic away from the town centre, will pass through the site.

Taylor Wimpey aim to build 13 ‘residential pods’ – the first phase is likely to be 340 houses to the east of Whitefield Road – and provide a new 11-class primary school, to be built in two phases.

The developer has been asked for money to fund transport improvements, such as re-routing Whitefield Road, upgrading Pleasance Road and part of Halbeath Road being increased to four lanes, as well as contributing towards the cost of the NLR.

The legal agreement will also confirm the money to be paid to help alleviate capacity problems in secondary schools in Dunfermline and fund extra accommodation at St Margaret's and Townhill primary schools.