Around 150 residents met with a representative of the developer Stewart Milne Homes at a meeting organised by the community council last week.

The increased level of traffic in the town that the major housing development on land to the north of Greystone Road would create appears to be the biggest worry for residents.

Outline planning permission for the development was granted in April, after previously being rejected on two separate occasions, subject to public consultation on traffic and transport issues.

Aberdeenshire Council received over 80 responses during the public consultation period, which has now ended.

The matter is expected to be discussed and a revised application for detailed planning permission considered when the Marr Area Committee meets on September 9.

Community council chairman Ian Law has urged residents to continue writing to Aberdeenshire Council until the meeting takes place.

He said: "The community council will be putting in an objection to Aberdeenshire Council and as many people as possible should write to the council to share their concerns.

"At last Tuesday's meeting it was made clear to us by the public that there are a lot of worries about this development. The concerns aren't so much regarding the building of the homes but to do with the access and safety aspects.

"The likelihood is that the new owners of these 200 homes will have two cars each and the majority of these cars will be heading to Aberdeen every working day. This will create a huge amount of congestion in Alford in the morning and in the evenings."

The two roads that would be most affected would be Greystone Road and David McLean Drive.

Mr Law added: "Greystone Road is a narrow road and it can't be widened because it has buildings on it that have stood for many years.

"As for David McLean Drive, I imagine when people bought their properties there they thought they were going to be staying on a very quiet, little street but it seems now that it is going to be a busy thoroughfare of cars heading to Aberdeen."

Sandy Proctor, who has lived on David McLean Drive for ten years, was worried about the dangers the increased level of traffic would have on the pupils attending the nearby schools.

He said: "It is a quiet road and I don't think it would cope with an increased amount of traffic. There are a lot of children who walk along David McLean Drive to go to school and I don't know how safe it would be if this goes ahead. I feel it is a really big development for the size of Alford."

Another resident who stays at Greystone Road and did not wish to be named said: "Just about everybody in the village is against this. I have been at all the meetings and voiced my concerns at them all. The whole street signed a lengthy statement on our concerns and how it impinged on the school children and the elderly who stay here.

"The developers originally said that they would put a road from the A944 to the development but they have now backtracked.

"I believe if they are not prepared to meet the costs then there should not be a development. The whole thing is at the wrong end of the village. If it was on the other side of Alford, closest to Aberdeen, then they wouldn't have to cross the village on their way to work."