St Andrews & East Fife Local Plan - Home Page

eleases will be for commercial and employment land appropriate tothe needs of the area. Employment land is identified in Anstruther, StMonans, and Crail.Sustainable Development31. The Local Plan aims to safeguard resources and to locate developmentwhere it has limited impact on the environment and the most positivesocial and economic effects. Sites have been selected for housing,employment and other development from those considered best able tomeet these aims and so help create sustainable communities. Newsettlements are not proposed; instead, new developments will beintegrated with existing communities so that more people can benefitfrom enhanced facilities. Sustainability should not be seen as a barrierto building on previously undeveloped land or countryside, however.Where proposals can bring benefits to new and existing communities,development will be considered in line with the Local Plan strategy andpolicies.32. The Local Plan will promote sustainable communities through:• Identifying sites which encourage people to walk, cycle or use publictransport to get to work, school and community facilities either inindividual settlements or collectively across a number of neighbouringcommunities;• Improving travel choices through promoting public transport and thedevelopment of non-vehicular links such as pedestrian and cycle pathsin conjunction with the core paths identified in the Fife Core Paths Plan;• Supporting new development which minimises and mitigatesenvironmental impact, including moving towards low or zero carbondevelopment where it conforms with other Local Plan policies;• Supporting the provision of garden ground and allotments;• Encouraging domestic renewable energy and shared sources ofenergy;• Promoting buildings that can provide for different needs over time;• Safeguarding and creating green corridors for biodiversity and access -the latter in conjunction with the core paths system;• Providing for a range of housing densities appropriate to the scale andlocation of the site, and increasing the number of units per hectare,particularly where the development sites are close to town centresand/or key public transport interchanges; and• Providing a choice of quality housing styles and size, as well as achoice of different locations, prices and tenures.33. Substantial progress has already been achieved in the promotion ofsustainable development in other parts of Fife, and this has beenreflected through a number of proposed major developments such asrenewable energy at Energy Park Fife in Methil and development of agreen business park at Westfield, near Kinglassie. We will seek to