Plans for a massive expansion of a Fife town have been approved.

Councillors have given planning permission in principle for up to 850 new homes in Glenrothes on the site of former paper mill, Tullis Russell.

The plans will see a mix of flats and houses, a care village, retail, employment spaces and an expansion to Riverside Park.

The development is expected to take around ten years to complete.

It faced a number of objections, including from supermarket Asda and a nearby biomass plant, over concerns that noise complaints would lead to restrictions on the companies.

However, at a council meeting, planning officer Chris Smith said there wouldn't be a detrimental impact to either residents or businesses.

He added: "We wouldn't be doing our jobs as planners if we recommended this for approval knowing there would be noise issues."

The plans would also see upgrades to the Markinch roundabout, with traffic expected to reroute though the new development, to avoid the busy junction at Cadham Road End, where officers even talked of a possibility of closing the junction off altogether.

North Glenrothes and Markinch councillor John Beare said: "Without doubt, the application for housing and business use is the most significant potential development in Glenrothes since the days of Glenrothes Development Corporation.

"Further detailed applications will need to come forward before any development can commence on site and issues like traffic flows from and to Cadham will be part of that process."