PLANS for 92 new homes next to Townhill Country Park are set to get the go-ahead – once an agreement is signed to pay more than £850,000 to Fife Council.

MacTaggart and Mickel's bid to develop 10 acres of grassland was refused by the local authority but now only the swish of a pen stands in the way of a successful appeal to the Scottish Government.

The reporter from the planning and environmental appeals division (DPEA) told the Glasgow-based developer in December that he was minded to grant permission "subject to a legal agreement being reached".

While the final details aren't known, the deal will almost certainly include more than £850,000 in education and transport contributions the council asked for originally.

A legal agreement between the council and developer has been in place since at least March but hasn't been signed.

A spokesperson for the council said: "It is now up to the developer to sign and register the legal agreement at their end before the reporter will then issue their final decision notice."

The site, which contains an electricity pylon and has overhead lines crossing it, is north of Kent Street in Dunfermline and borders the entrance to the country park and national waterski centre.

MacTaggart and Mickel want to build terraced and semi-detached properties, bungalows and cottage-style flats, and promise "generous" public open space, improvements to Townhill Road and a three-metre-wide footpath/cycleway with links to the country park. A quarter will be affordable homes.

Council officers were in favour and recommended approval, subject to conditions and the legal agreement.

That included education and transport contributions: £485,000 to help solve capacity issues at St Margaret's RC and Townhill primary schools, and secondary schools in Dunfermline; £368,000 for strategic transport interventions; and a contribution towards the upgrade of the Whitefield Road / Halbeath Road / Linburn Road junction and Halbeath Road improvements.

However, in July last year, councillors voted 6-2 against, arguing it would constitute overdevelopment and complained of a lack of green space and garden ground.

Townhill Community Council had raised concerns about the impact on the village school's capacity, road safety and access issues for houses fronting onto Townhill Road.

However, the company submitted an appeal to the Scottish Government in September and reporter David Liddell sided with them, issuing the notice of intention just before Christmas.

All that remains is the signing of the agreement but there have been repeated delays.

Correspondence between the developer's agents and the DPEA shows that two of the landowners live in Australia and the document has been with them since April.

MacTaggart and Mickel have also argued that the council should pay the company's expenses because of "unreasonable behaviour", including an assertion that the local authority failed to give precise and relevant reasons for refusal.

The council have refuted the claim.

The reporter will rule on this when he gives his final decision.