An exclusive £25million housing development linked to a Lanarkshire fraudster has been rejected by the Scottish government.
An application to build a large estate of 44 homes around Liberty Durant's mansion on green belt land sparked complaints from furious neighbours.
The project in Bothwell came after Durant was given a 10-year directorship ban and a suspended prison sentence for carrying out a £700,000 fraud while already banned from being a company director.
The family of the 74-year-old Durant - who drives a Rolls-Royce Dawn convertible - has owned the land around his home for many years.
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Councillors had rejected the plans after officers recommended it should be refused over impact on green belt.
A last bid to force the application through was sent to the government by Bothwell Land and Developments, which has links to Durant's business associates.
A government reporter has now said the proposals should be rejected.
Council papers revealed the Durant family had signed a Section 75 planning agreement in 2003 which placed restrictions on any development on the site.
But ownership of the plot transferred to a company formed in 2019 'Beechtree Wright Ltd', its sole director is Elaine Smith.
She is also the sole director of Bothwell Land and Developments Ltd, which was formed last year and was the official applicant for the Bothwell planning development.
Dozens of objectors had been enraged by plans for the 'major development' of houses and flats on the green belt land, which sits on a flood plain.
The plans had received supportive statements, with local estate agents emphasising the shortage of housing in the area.
South Lanarkshire Council's planning committee confirmed the plans should be refused earlier this year.
Government reporter Rosie Leven said the developer's claims the site would help solve a housing shortage did not justify building on the land.
She added: "In particular, addressing a very small shortfall in the effective housing land supply would not in this case justify the permanent loss of greenfield, green belt land which is not located sustainably in transport terms and the loss of which would adversely affect the setting of the settlement.
"I find that these disadvantages of the proposal significantly and demonstrably outweigh the very shallow tilt in favour of the development and that it would not, overall, contribute to sustainable development."
In 2018 Lincoln Crown Court heard investigators caught Durant plotting to put his assets out of the reach of creditors.
It involved a forged sales contract that falsely made Durant out as the owner of caravans he had never paid a penny for.
At the time he was serving a separate six-year directorship ban for conduct related to another company collapse.
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