Councillors opted to “follow the money” when a controversial housing plan for Fraserburgh returned to them for approval yesterday.
Members of the Banff and Buchan area committee were asked to agree proposals for the next phase of a major scheme at the south of the town – three months after they clashed with officers over where the developer’s contribution to the community would be spent.
The planning department had been considering pouring the money into regenerating the beach front area of Fraserburgh.
However, councillors demanded contributions from the first phase of the 590-home project near Boothby Road should be earmarked for two football pitches on the site itself, as had been discussed during a public consultation.
Yesterday, they were given the option of accepting a cash alternative to the pitches – or taking on the ownership of the land themselves.
Local councillor Ian Tait, who was the only member to move for taking the land, described the scheme as a “very sorry saga”.
He said it was essential that the money should be spent on or near the site.
Charles Buchan, who also represents Fraserburgh, said it was unlikely that the local authority could maintain both pitches alone.
He said: “The cash of the developer, to my understanding, is vastly inadequate to even provide two football pitches. I really think we’ve got to follow the money here.”
A report to committee members from the local authority’s infrastructure boss Stephen Archer had earlier recommended that councillors retract their request for money to be earmarked for pitches.
It will now be left to council officers to allocate the community contribution from Claymore Homes, agreed as part of a Section 75 agreement.
The developer had offered an alternative to the financial contribution.
Instead of a cash lump sum, Claymore Homes would have given the council land on the Merryhillock site for sports facilities which it would then have to find a way of maintaining.