AN argument about whether eight homes in a remote spot at the Forth shore should be classed as two settlements or one has held up a planning application.

And it means that James Corrie's proposals, to build two new houses at Crombie Point, will have to be determined another day.

Fife Council officers moved for refusal and said his plans would lead to "coalescence" of two distinct and separate settlements, which is against the local authority's 'cluster policy', but councillors took a different view.

A report to the west and central planning committee said the proposals were contrary to the development plan: "It has been stated that the two properties to the north of the site were formally part of the historic Craigflower Estate and have never formed part of Crombie Point, which consists of the six properties to the south."

However, Cllr Julie McDougall said it could be seen as small scale development on a gap site, which council policy is in favour of.

Committee convener, Cllr David Barratt, said: "That's really the crux of this application, whether we consider it to be a cluster.

"The argument from the officers is that it would be coalescence of two clusters rather than a gap site within one cluster, and that's a decision for us to come to."

Mr Corrie, of Blairadam, is seeking permission to build the homes, plus garages and access, on a 3,000 square metres site at Crombie Point, which is 1.5km south-west of Crombie.

Vehicle access would be from Shore Road.

It's a contentious issue locally with 26 letters of support and 37 letters of objection, with concerns about road safety, flooding, the design and visual impact of the homes, additional strain on utilities and the effect on natural heritage.

Two previous plans to build two houses on the site were withdrawn, in February 2009 and in November 2022.

Council officers said there was a flood risk at the road but, as they were going to recommend refusal, they didn't ask the applicant to investigate further.

The committee agreed to defer a decision for the flood risk to be looked at in more detail, with the inference that the plans will be acceptable if there are suitable mitigation measures.