The residential development on Fourdon Road has been on pause for nearly six years due to concerns over a rise in traffic at an already busy A90 junction at the A90.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Kincardine and Mearns area committee rejected an application by Barratt North Scotland back in 2017 citing concerns about housing density and the layout of roads for the plan at Fordoun Road, before the developer appealed to Holyrood’s planning and environment appeals division to overturn the refusal.

The plans were approved under the condition no part of the development would be occupied until the long-awaited Laurencekirk flyover on the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road is completed.

But AB30 Developments Ltd, which has taken over the project from Barratt, is now pushing for this to be altered so construction can start. The company is proposing a phased approach to build the 247 homes on a 30-acre site outside Laurencekirk. These include 28 cottage flats, along with 60 semi-detached, 40terraced and 119 detached houses – a quarter of which will be affordable housing.

If given the go-ahead, the company will deliver the houses in three stages in line with the flyover progress. The proposed revision suggests the designs for the flyover need to be submitted and approved before the 50th house in the development can be occupied. However, no more than 100 homes can be occupied until the flyover is built.