ANOTHER “key milestone” has been hit by developers in their bid to build 1,400 new homes in Dunfermline.

Earlier this year Taylor Wimpey East Scotland announced that they had acquired Wester Whitefield Farm, which they had first paid a deposit for in 2005, and have now revealed plans to extend their new Whitefields neighbourhood into Halbeath Farm.

A planning application was submitted in May for work to begin on the next stage of pre-construction works on the development, which will now expand across a further 91 acres.

The development between Halbeath and Kingseat promises a “substantial range” of benefits, including a new primary school, shops, new cycleways and pedestrian footpaths, an equipped play area and outdoor meeting space.

A quarter of the new houses, 350 units, will be affordable homes and, as a nod to the former land use, stonework from the farm including a door lintel inscribed with 'RW-IL 1662', will be reinstated within a ‘character area’.

The neighbourhood will offer a mixture of apartments, detached, semi-detached, and terraced buildings.

Pauline Mills, of Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, said: “Following our successful acquisition of the land at Wester Whitefield Farm, off Whitefield Road earlier this year, we are pleased to have taken ownership of 91 acres of land at Halbeath Farm.

“As we look to create our new neighbourhood Whitefields, this land will allow us to deliver the planned primary school and local community facilities as outlined in our masterplan vision for the area.”

Key transport infrastructure improvements will also be made, with work planned for Kingseat Road (West), Whitefield Road (B912) and the new Northern Link Road, which is a £20 million-plus bypass to serve the new housing estates in north Dunfermline and take traffic away from the city centre. There will also be pedestrian crossings and safe routes to schools.

Meadow grasslands will be created for residents, and measures will be taken to enhance the area for local wildlife and improve biodiversity through the inclusion of features such as bug hotels and hedgehog highways.

Ms Mills continued: “Whitefields will be a brand-new community and place to call home in North Dunfermline.

“It will deliver around 1,400 new homes, create major new infrastructure and include improvements to existing transport links, as well as providing substantial community benefits.

“Whitefields will also have its roots firmly in North Dunfermline while supporting the existing local communities of Kingseat and Halbeath as its new community develops and grows.”

To find out more visit www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/whitefields or call 01383 845 745.