Seven homes will be built in Carnbo which lies between Milnathort and Yetts O’ Muckhart.

Perth & Kinross Council’s planning and placemaking committee approved the application, which was recommended for approval, by six votes to four.

The planning application was submitted by Wright Planning and Development Ltd on behalf of Fiona Watt and Fiona Watt and the Trustees of the George Watt Family Trust.

The L-shaped development will see a house erected on the site of the former petrol station, one behind - fronting onto the new access road which would be built off the A91 - with the remaining five round the corner, behind the existing houses and looking onto the fields behind.

The committee’s convener Ian Massie questioned why there was no affordable housing proposed in the development.

Perth & Kinross Council’s Developer Contributions and Affordable Housing supplementary guidance is for 25% of the total number of houses on a development of over five units to be affordable housing. In this instance, a commuted sum (payment made by the developer to the council) as an alternative to providing affordable housing was deemed “appropriate” by council officers.

According to the guidance, the payment should work out at around £42,000 based on a rate of £24,000 per unit developed in the Kinross housing market area.

The developer’s agent John Wright said: “We’ve got an area of contamination [where the petrol station was] that needs to be resolved, we’ve got drainage mitigation we need to secure and deliver which does impact the viability of the overall development.”

Councillors were later told providing two affordable units would be a “significant challenge” due to the costs involved in decontaminating the land of the former petrol station.

A council officer said: “Delivering two units on the site would pose a significant challenge given the abnormal site conditions.

“It would have been highly unlikely that we would have been able to attract the interest of PKC Housing Services or a housing association to deliver housing for social rent or mid-market rent on this site.”