Furious residents in Lossiemouth have reacted angrily after a petition which they collected against a new road being built was rejected.
Tulloch of Cummingston have lodged a full application with Moray Council for the development of 278 houses and 4 retail units which the local authority say is a departure from the local plan.
The Stop the Bad Access group (BAD), which was formed earlier this year, say the council’s plans will create congestion in a quiet area.
The group had collected more than 400 signatures on a petition which the council is now saying is invalid because at the time it was subject to extensive public consultation.
Councillor John Cowe for Heldon and Laich was at a community council meeting earlier this week where they discussed the issue.
He said: “The design is subject to large public consultation and any decision is way off.
“I was at a meeting of the community council where BAD members brought up the issue of the designing better streets policy.
“What the group would like is a walking cycling route between the two cul-de-sacs and there is nothing to stop the developer putting this in.”
Community council chairman Mike Mulholland said: “I feel for the people involved and understand their anxiety.
“When we moved here one of the attractions was that it was a quiet cul-de-sac with children able to play on their bikes and young families.
“We will lose all that if the plan for access goes ahead – there will be increased traffic also by contractors going up and down the road.”
Gillian Priestley, a BAD member, said: “We feel the councillors are incapable or constrained to give advice or express opinions because of their policies.
“We don’t know where to go because we’re not getting advice.
“I didn’t even get a neighbour notification from the council. They are using it like a house planning application not a major development.
Jim Grant, head of development services at Moray Council, said: “All issues raised by the residents will be looked into to assess the overall impact.
“The petition process came during the consultation of the proposed local development plan and all formal representation will be reported along with other submitted responses to the Scottish Government reporter.
“The application is already in and it will be assessed against current policies.”