ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners back the £180 million education campus in Dunfermline but say others parts of the plans are ringing "alarm bells".

The Save the Calais Woods Wildlife group are in favour of a new Fife College campus and replacements for St Columba's and Woodmill high schools being built at Halbeath.

However, they're worried that plans for the rest of the site could lead to environment and ecological damage, more traffic, road safety problems and a rise in littering, pollution, vandalism and flooding.

Spokesman Martin Willcocks said: "We don't want people to object to all of it but they should make their views known and interact as this project is of the utmost importance for Dunfermline and its future.

"The developer has answered some of the points we raised but it's all nice words and fancy pictures at the moment and we're trying to maintain pressure on them to make sure it gets done right."

The education campus will, all being well, be built at the Shepherd Offshore site off Dunlin Drive by 2024 and, in December, an application for planning permission in principle was submitted to Fife Council.

As well as the two high schools and college, it includes 225 houses and 17 assisted living apartments, a nursery, 90-bed care home, pub/restaurant, drive-thru coffee shop and a 16-pump petrol filling station.

Mr Willcocks said they supported the addition of the care home, nursery, assisted living and pub/restaurant as they would "benefit the community".

However, they have already opposed more housing on the site and are against the petrol station and drive-thru coffee shop.

He said: "There's a coffee shop across the road and there's a Costa getting built at Halbeath so there's not really a shortfall, especially for a drive-thru.

"For the petrol station, again you've already got them about a quarter to a half mile away at Tesco in Duloch and another one at Asda Halbeath.

"And we're supposed to be moving to electric cars by 2030 so there should be less need for petrol stations, not more."

He continued: "When the schools and college open you've got 5,000-6,000 pupils, students and staff, there'll be another 225 houses and the extra influx of traffic that will bring, then the care home, nursery and assisted living apartments.

"Add the petrol station and drive-thru coffee shop too, that's a huge amount of traffic and pedestrians in one area, it's probably much more than the area can cope with.

"You've also got one of the largest warehouses in Europe, with a lot of coming and going with lorries and hundreds of staff cars from Amazon, just down the road. There's already lorries parking on Sandpiper Drive and workers parking in residential streets."

The group has opposed the "removal of a green network" running through the site and the proposed southern approach road, which they said would affect wildlife, inflict pollution on the Suds (drainage) ponds and pose a road safety risk for thousands of pupils having to cross there to get to and from school.

They're also worried about more litter and damage in the woodlands and a lack of enforcement from the council, pointing out that previous developers left building materials and other debris, such as thousands of pieces of 'polystyrene nuggets', that damaged natural habitats, polluted ponds and watercourses and risked flooding.

Shepherds changed the masterplan for the 40 hectares they own after reporting no interest in the proposed employment and industrial units.

Public consultations were held last year and, so far, the application has attracted 41 letters of objection and five in support.

A planning statement by Colliers International, on behalf of Shepherds, said: "The proposed education uses, nursery, care home, family pub, petrol station and drive-thru coffee shop will all still provide multiple jobs on a site which in its current vacant state is delivering no jobs for the residents living in the surrounding area."

It added: "The proposed uses will result in lower traffic generation and lower levels of noise than the previously-approved masterplan and will incorporate greater levels of landscaping and greenspace to meet the requirements of the site allocation."