Forfar developer Guild Homes loses three-year planning fight for 250 new houses

Angus developer Guild Homes has lost its three-year fight for a 245-house expansion of Forfar towards the town bypass.

It is the second time the Scottish Government has rejected plans for the Turfbeg West plan which would have doubled the size of the housebuilder’s Strathmore Fields development.

The farmland between Kirriemuir Road and Garth Farm near the A90 dual carriageway it wanted to build on is not currently allocated for housing in the Angus local plan.

The firm said the appeal knockback was a “huge disappointment”.

And it claims it has been denied the chance to deliver new homes because the council plan is years behind schedule.

But the Scottish Government reporter who handled the appeal has said that even if the Guild scheme hadn’t breached national planning policies he would have refused it because of its poor design.

Three-year battle for greenfield go-ahead

Guild Homes lodged plans in 2021 for what it said was the “natural expansion” of its Strathmore Fields development beside Forfar community campus.

But local GPs objected because of the extra pressure hundreds of new homes could put on Forfar and Kirrie practices.

The company subsequently challenged Angus Council’s non-determination of the application.

And in August 2022 the Scottish Government dismissed its appeal. A reporter criticised its design and layout, saying it wasn’t a “sustainable proposal in overall terms.”

However, that was later quashed at the Court of Session because of subsequent and substantial policy changes at national level.

It led to the Forfar appeal being re-considered.

But in newly-issued findings a reporter has reached the same conclusion.

Company highlight local and national housing emergencies

Company director Mark Guild said: “The refusal of this appeal is of huge disappointment for Guild Homes staff, sub-contractors, suppliers and many potential customers.

“We made the planning application for Turfbeg West three years ago as we believed there was a huge need for housing in the Forfar/Kirriemuir area and predicted none of the housing sites allocated by Angus Council would deliver.

“We are now three years on. A housing emergency has been declared, both by Angus Council and the Scottish Government and, as we predicted, other than Guild Homes the other housing sites in the Forfar/Kirriemuir area have delivered little or no homes.

“We have spent the last three years and over half a million pounds fighting to deliver housing at Turfbeg West.

“The Scottish Government and Angus Council have spent the same three years trying to stop us.

“This planning application was only necessary as Angus Council did not produce a new local development plan to allocate land for housing in 2021 as promised and now tell us a new plan to allocate housing will not now be produced until 2029 at the earliest – that’s at least eight years late.”

Mr Guild added: “Angus Council want new housing at Turfbeg West refused as it is not an allocated site, yet deny us the opportunity to have land allocated for housing as they have not produced their 2021 local development plan.

“The Angus Council position is clear, no land allocation for housing equals no planning
permission, equals no housing to build, and all in the middle of a housing crisis.

“Turfbeg West is ready for development.

“However, with limited allocated land left in Angus to build houses on it is no surprise that there are so few local housebuilders left.”