PROPOSALS for new Burger King and Costa Coffee outlets in Halbeath look set to get the go-ahead.

Fife Council officers are backing the plans, which also include another fast food outlet and three shops, for the site west of MacDonald Square.

Villagers had hoped to grill planners and the applicant at a public meeting before a decision was made, given the "contentiousness" of the proposals, but the application is set to be determined at an online meeting of the central and west planning committee on Tuesday.

PVY Ltd, of Garvock Hill in Dunfermline, said Burger King and Costa Coffee would each have a drive-thru and there will be 86 parking spaces on the site between Main Street and the A907 dual carriageway.

It includes the former Halbeath filling station but NOT the derelict Hotel Roma, which has been closed since November 2006 and has become an eyesore, and the applicant said the proposals would bring jobs and an empty site back into use.

Work to clear the site has been ongoing for more than a month.

There were 16 objections and one letter of support with concerns including noise, litter, anti-social behaviour, vandalism, road safety and queuing traffic, as well as land ownership and the principle of development.

It will be across the road from Halbeath Retail Park, which has permission for an extension that will include a Lidl supermarket, M&S Foodhall and seven other shops, and objectors said there were already 17 fast food venues and a 24-hour supermarket within a mile of the site.

Others said there was no demand for the retail units and more fast food joints could have a detrimental impact on health and obesity levels.

However, the report to the committee said: "The need for the development or demand for the retail units is not a material planning consideration and it is not considered that there would be any significant additional strain on local infrastructure."

A report submitted by the applicant's agent explained that alternative development sites, such as the St Margaret's Works in Foundry Street or Walmer Drive in Dunfermline, were not suitable while Halbeath Retail Park and Fife Leisure Park "do not have scope to accommodate the proposal".

It was also "accepted that the drive-thru restaurant uses could not be accommodated within Dunfermline town centre".

The council report said that, as Halbeath Retail Park lacked café/drive-thru facilities, the proposal "could enhance the visitor experience" for shoppers going there.

It added that "whilst the proposal does not include the adjacent, dilapidated and vacant Hotel Roma building, it could help stimulate regeneration of the Main Street area of Halbeath".

Planning officers have recommended approval and conditions to deal with traffic, road safety and noise issues.

The report said the applicant had outlined measures to tackle littering and that, while anti-social behaviour was not a planning issue, the proposal "should not result in a significant increase" in trouble.

There have been numerous development plans for the site and surrounding area over the years but no progress.

Planning applications for 86 flats in 2007 and 103 flats in 2009 were withdrawn and refused respectively.

A proposal for five retail units, which included the demolition of Hotel Roma, was approved in 2012 and permission renewed in 2015 but work never started.