PROPOSALS to build 59 new houses next to Townhill Country Park look set to get the green light – although the developer would have to pay around £600,000 to Fife Council.

Planning officers are recommending approval for Lochay Homes' application to develop the site north of Kent Street in Dunfermline.

The West and Central planning committee will make their decision at a meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

There are five letters of objection and one letter from Townhill Community Council, who support the proposal but "have reservations regarding the narrowing of Townhill Road prior to the Northern Link Road (NLR) being in place".

The route of the NLR, a £20 million-plus bypass that will take traffic away from the city centre and serve the new housing estates in the north of the city, will be the north of the site.

Other concerns raised include an increase in traffic, noise levels and pollution, road safety, loss of trees, the impact on Townhill Country Park, disruption during building work and the effect on nature.

Planners have recommended conditional approval and a section 75 legal agreement to secure developer contributions.

The council would seek more than £360,000 to help alleviate capacity issues in local schools, £229,276 for transport improvements and a contribution towards the upgrade of the Whitefield Road / Halbeath Road / Linburn Road junction and Halbeath Road improvements.

Previously, in July 2019, the council refused plans from Glasgow developers MacTaggart and Mickel to build 92 homes on the site.

This decision was overturned and permission granted in June 2020 after an appeal to the Scottish Government.

However, work has never started and it's now Lochay Homes that want to build houses there.

The site is four hectares at the northern edge of Dunfermline, on former farming land between Kent Street and the country park.

Mostly grassland, it contains a burn and also a pylon, with overhead lines running over a corner of the plot.

The estimated capacity of the site is 80 homes.

The plans include a new access road from Townhill Road as well as open space, a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS basin) and landscaping.

Of the 59 new homes, 16 will be 'affordable' homes for social rent.

Most of the properties would be two storey, semi-detached homes but there will also be 15 bungalows, terraced homes and two storey cottage flats.