Cowdenbeath to get eight new industrial units

Members of Fife Council’s West and Central Planning Committee approved the plans which will see the development on a vacant site next to the Glenfield Industrial Estate.

The units will be created across three buildings and will be for business or storage/distribution use.

A substation, parking, turning areas and landscaping also form part of the plans.

The application had attracted a total of 18 objections with issues raised about the loss of trees and the ecological impact, as well as worries about air quality, road safety, noise and glare.

Cowdenbeath councillor Alie Bain expressed concerns that the existing area had no restrictions on things like lorry movement at night.

“That can go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “Will we be able to put a condition on?”

Fife Council committee lead for Development Management, Alastair Hamilton, confirmed conditions would be added to mitigate issues which he said have been reported at the neighbouring site.

“The existing operation at the Graham’s Dairy site has been taken into consideration in terms of how we have assessed this site,” he explained.

“So presented to you, I don’t think I am remiss in saying, is probably the most controlled industrial site primarily because of some of the issues that have come from the neighbouring site.

“It has been very carefully scrutinised to make sure the parameters in which we are taking this forward have taken on board and learned from some of the issues that have arisen at the neighbouring site.”

Councillor Altany Craik welcomed the reassurance.

“We can take a bit of comfort from the fact this has been worked through very closely,” he said. “I am comfortable we have got to the right place and I think we should be moving this for approval.”

The committee unanimously agreed to back the planning service’s recommendation and approved the application.