PLANS to build 69 new homes at a former Fife Council depot in Dunfermline have been approved.

Allanwater Homes, based in Bridge of Allan, have been given permission to develop the site, off Carnock Road.

There will be a range of house types, from two- to five-bedroom homes with terraced, semi- and detached properties plus a block of four cottage-style flats.

A planning statement on behalf of Allanwater said: "Historically, this site has presented an unappealing and unkept frontage, and the new treatment along the edge will be of key importance.

“The existing site entrance is grim and unfriendly, and the opportunity to create a welcome arrival space will be taken.

“As the sites immediately to the east and west, both previously commercial, are currently being developed for new homes, the opportunity exists to form a coherent residential street frontage for the first time.”

The plans include ‘green courtyards’ of open space as well as underground drainage measures, trees and landscaping.

The “positive frontage” onto Carnock Road will have railings, evergreen hedges and feature walls, with public art making reference to Dunfermline’s heritage.

But the existing stone walls facing onto the street cannot be retained as the pavement is to be widened to three metres for a shared cycle/pedestrian route.

This will link to the Dunfermline to Alloa cycleway, which runs along the southern boundary of the site.

More than 100 years ago, the land was in use as a quarry with railway lines running through it. The site was described previously as derelict and contaminated.

The quarry was filled in by the early 1900s and later became a depot. The rail tracks were removed by 1986.

In February 2016, the council decided to sell the site, and three other depots in Dunfermline, and bring together four services under one roof at a new ‘super depot’ at Halbeath.

Allanwater, who are already building homes on the street, first came forward with plans for the 2.78-hectare depot site in July 2016.

Proposals were submitted in 2020 but later withdrawn, with the council saying the firm had made a mistake in their application.

A new public consultation was launched last April with fresh plans tabled in the summer. There were four objections.

The local authority will now sell the old Milesmark depot to Allanwater and a report by council planners added: "The proposal would provide an attractive, welcoming, high-quality development through a varied layout and mix of property types and the height, massing, roofline and other detailing is considered to respect the character and appearance of the surrounding built environment.

"The proposal overall would, therefore, result in a development which would provide a significant positive visual contribution to this vacant former council depot site."