A 1,000 home expansion of a north-east town has been agreed by councillors.
A masterplan to create South Ugie Village, north of Peterhead, was first mooted in 2014 and was yesterday signed off by members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Buchan area committee.
Their approval means that developer Knight-Frank can move ahead with planning applications for the scheme which will include houses, businesses and space for a medical centre and primary school.
Concerns were raised about how close the new homes would be situated to land, already set aside by the local authority for development, and the impact they would have on neighbours.
Councillor Alan Gardiner attempted to rally support to defer a decision on the scheme until a site visit could be carried out.
He warned colleagues: “We could be subject to a legal challenge. I’m not trying to slow things down – I’m not against it.
“But I can’t see the logic at all of not having a site visit when we can sort these things now.”
However, chairman, Stuart Pratt, branded the idea of a site visit as “pointless” and used his casting vote to block Mr Gardiner’s motion.
Neighbours had previously raised concerns over a lack of communication about how the development would affect them which prompted a delay in approving the scheme earlier this year.
At yesterday’s meeting, a spokeswoman for the council’s planning service said just six people attended a special meeting set up afterwards to address the issues.
She added: “The planning service are satisfied. The masterplan is kind of a broad brush technique. We don’t know the finer details, they would be addressed at the planning stage.”
