Moray Council has been warned that parts of the region’s countryside are at risk of becoming “suburbanised” by an influx of housing.
The authority’s planning team has compiled a landscape report which argues that new housing is threatening to overwhelm traditional buildings in rural settings.
The dossier identifies eight areas – Archiestown, Birnie, Craigellachie, Letterfourie, Miltonhill, Mosstowie, Rafford and Roseisle – where there is little or no scope for further development.
And planning officer Emma Gordon warned other rural areas now face similar problems.
Her report says: “The rate of new housing in the countryside has been significant, and this threatens to merge the character of rural and urban areas.
“In some of the study areas, the degree of cumulative build-up has resulted in the landscape being changed so much that the rural environment could not be described as being of high quality.
“In some areas, new houses are now so numerous and prominent they have imposed a more suburban character in the countryside – with the few traditional buildings in these areas comprising a minor feature.”
Planning chiefs have urged that the council adopt a new policy to protect some rural villages from further expansion.
If approved by committee, the new draft guidance will be the subject of a 12-week consultation period.
The council’s planning committee will meet today to discuss the report.