FIFE COUNCIL have said the taxpayer could be hit in the pocket if a Wellwood housing site appeal goes against them.

In a long-running saga stretching back six years, Omnivale have been seeking permission to build 140 homes on 14 acres of land north of Leadside Crescent.

After the council refused, the company appealed to the Scottish Government but the main stumbling block is money – with the local authority asking for more than the housebuilder is willing to give for school facilities and transport improvements.

Both sides are at least £1 million apart and a final decision is now expected by February 1.

Kevin Treadwell, service manager in the planning department, said that if lower amounts were accepted, it would mean Omnivale "would be treated favourably" compared to the other housebuilding firms and the "public purse" may have to pick up any shortfall.

However, the Nottinghamshire company said the council was relying on out-of-date guidance Scottish ministers told them not to use and that "the pooling of funds and a simple per unit contribution without further assessment of individual impacts of the development, is patently unfair, unreasonable, and unlawful".

Omnivale said that, since a hearing in November 2021, the council's approach "has been characterised by delay, unjustified changes in position and a general unwillingness to engage".

The Scottish reporter, Trevor Croft, indicated in October that he was minded to grant planning permission and gave both parties 12 weeks to strike a legal agreement on the level of developer contributions to be paid to the council.

However, they've been unable to resolve their differences and a new deadline was set.

Omnivale have now submitted 'unilateral undertakings' which state how much they're offering but the council has said it's not enough.

The local authority say that, based on a per unit cost on the 105 homes that will be available to buy, with 35 set to be affordable homes, the company should be paying more than £1.6m towards a new 14-class primary school in Wellwood.

Omnivale said they would pay £830,000.

The council also said the money on the table for secondary education was not enough.

For strategic transport improvement measures, the council's revised figure is £349,556 – they had asked initially for more than £550,000 – which is "far in excess" of the £110,000 the developer has offered.

Mr Treadwell said Omnivale calculated their transport contributions in such a way that it "significantly reduces the contribution per house" and did not represent "an equitable and proportionate contribution" towards mitigating the direct impacts of the housing development.

He also said the £8,460 the company offered towards the cost of three off-site footpaths, totalling 36 metres, "does not reflect the cost the council would incur" in carrying out the works and "the public purse would therefore be required to contribute".

The council's argument is that developers pay for transport and education improvements in the area on the basis that the residents who move into the homes they’re building will be adding to traffic congestion and school capacity issues.

Omnivale are only willing to pay developer contributions based solely on the impact of their site while the council say their site can't be viewed in isolation and the contributions are based on the cumulative impact of all the new housing sites in the area.

The company argued: "For there to be a requirement that the proposed development should contribute towards strategic transport measures remote from the site, information would need to be provided to demonstrate that this would be justified."

It stated that the local authority's simple zonal approach, with all sites, regardless of their size and impact, contributing the same amount was wrong and "disproportionate".