Fife Council turned down proposals by MacTaggart & Mickel for 92 homes on a four-hectare farmland site between Kent Street and Townhill Road almost a year ago on overdevelopment grounds.

Concerns had been raised by Townhill Community Council regarding a lack of school capacity, traffic calming measures and access issues for existing properties, The Courier reports.

However, the decision has now been formally overturned by the Scottish Government reporter David Liddell, who said: “On balance, I do not find that the proposal would be overdevelopment of the site.

“Despite the relatively small gardens of many of the proposed houses, I do not consider that the amount and distribution of garden ground and open space would cause significant adverse effects on the amenity of occupants of existing housing or of those of the proposed development.”

Mr Liddell highlighted concerns about traffic but suggested “active street frontages at this point would likely assist the council’s aims of reducing vehicle speeds” on the stretch of road.