Stonehaven residents will get the chance to have their say on plans for a controversial £250million housing, business and retail development this week.
Barratt East Scotland and the Drum Property Group want to build 1,500 homes at Kirkton, Fetteresso, along with a large supermarket, hotel, school and community facilities and 25 acres of employment land.
The Mill of Forest proposals were first lodged with Aberdeenshire Council in 2010, but the community rallied against them amid concerns the town’s infrastructure would not be able to cope.
And since the plans were resurrected last year, 142 objections have been lodged with the authority, along with just one letter of support.
A pre-determination meeting will be held at Mackie Academy on Thursday to give representatives from both sides the chance to make their case to councillors.
Planning officers, the developer and anyone who lodged a representation will be able to speak.
In a planning report, officers direct members of the Kincardine and Mearns area committee to an independent review of the developers’ supporting retail impact assessment, which they say is “highly material” to the proposal and “significantly underestimates the adverse impact” it would have on the town centre.
However, the reviewers suggest the scheme could be acceptable in terms of retail impact if the supermarket was reduced in size from 59,202sq ft to 43,056sq ft, was part of a large-scale urban expansion and had easy access for pedestrians and cyclists with good public transport links.
And supporters argue the provision of retail, leisure and business facilities would be a major benefit to Stonehaven, while the developers themselves claim the combination of housing and a supermarket would generate additional footfall and spending in the town.
Officials also remind the committee the scheme was a preferred option for the 2012 local development plan, but was removed to make way for the creation of the new town at Chapelton of Elsick.
Despite this, the proposals have not been proposed for inclusion in the 2016 plan, and planning officers suggest Elsick and other schemes will meet housing needs, while warning excessive development outwith allocated sites could threaten the delivery of those already backed.
The meeting on Thursday will begin at 6.30pm.
Anyone who has made a representation, and wants to speak, should call 01467 628207 or e-mail alison.cumming@aberdeenshire.gov.uk.