Thomson Homes proposals for Powmill
Powmill is a village in need of investment and further development to sustain local services and maintain vitality. Thomson Homes recognises the village’s inherent strengths and is seeking to promote a major expansion to revitalise Powmill.
Thomson Homes is seeking an appropriate scale of expansion which can put ‘heart’ back into the village. The establishment of a primary school (within a new school building) and with it a new community focus, is seen as critical to maintaining a sustainable community in Powmill.
The main features of the Development Concept are:
- Expand Powmill into the areas identified by the Council as having development potential together with two other areas. These development areas together provide the physical framework to expand the village by an additional 300 homes. Of these, 75 homes, or 25% of the total, would be affordable.
- This scale of development is sufficient to support a new primary school and raise adequate finances to fund this new school from developer contributions. It will also support and strengthen existing services and facilities.
- The proposed development will create a village heart as a physical focus for village activity.
- The development will introduce traffic calming measures on the A977 as well as gateway features and other land uses.
This scale of development will be programmed over a 10 year period to facilitate community integration.
Process of Engagement
Perth and Kinross Local Development Plan
The draft proposals were prepared as a submission to the emerging Local Development Plan for Perth and Kinross Council. The Council is in the process of preparing a new Development Plan, and the submission by Thomson Homes forms part of the consultation process the Council is undertaking with local communities, Key Agencies and others in the preparation of a Main Issues Report. This is currently being considered by the Council, with the aspiration to publish the Main Issues Report for full public consultation in September 2010.
Only after consultation will the Council decide whether the current proposal has merits and should form part of the Proposed Local Plan. The Proposed Plan will be subject to further consultation, probably September 2011 or later. Thereafter, the Plan is modified further then subject to what’s known now as an ‘Examination’ by Scottish Ministers (formerly Local Plan Inquiry). Only after this full and rigorous process is the Plan adopted. Current timescales suggest this will be sometime in 2015.
In the meantime, the project team is liaising with the Council’s Roads Department and Education Department to understand their response to the initial proposals.
Community Consultation
The Director of Thomson Homes, Ken Thomson, and Bob Salter and Alex Schlicke of Geddes Consulting, Planning and Development consultants to the project, presented the proposals to a packed community hall in mid November. A lively discussion followed the presentation, with opinions ranging from trepidation about the scale of the proposals to support for the concept of revitalising the village through new development.
Refining the proposals
The engagement process allows the Project Team to better understand the local priorities and concerns. The desire to slow traffic down along the main road through the village was strongly voiced at the initial consultation, and this will be addressed, in collaboration with the Council’s Roads Department, as part of refining the proposals.
Ongoing engagement
Thomson Homes will continue this process of community engagement with the local community to enable local support and understanding of the proposals. As further engagement takes place, updates will be posted on this web page to keep people informed of progress made, and how the proposals are changing to take account of feedback received.
To view our Public Consultation Strategy - please click here
