Cash offers to fight Kingask

Craig Nisbet, The Citizen, 30 July 1999

St Andrews Community Council are being asked to consider an unprecedented step towards legal action against Fife Council over their approval of plans for the multi-million pound Kingask golf course, hotel and leisure development.

In an extraordinary move, concerned members of the public have called for a special meeting of the community council and they have already pledged more than £10,000 to meet the legal costs of a fight.

For the first time in almost a quarter of a century, St Andrews Community Council are now scheduled to meet by public demand. The meeting is to be held in the town’s Burgh Chambers on Monday evening.

Community Council Chairman, Dr Frank Riddell, himself a bitter opponent of the Kingask scheme, said this week that the council was “moving into uncharted waters."

As Chairman, Dr Riddell himself resisted pressure to call a special meeting of the council. Instead, a group of residents who have already sought senior legal advice, used a rule that requires 20 members of the public to call on the council’s Secretary to hold a meeting. However, in a space of two days more than 200 people signed that call.

They are asking the community council to “consider Counsels opinion on the approval of the Kingask planning development and that the community council takes such action on the issues as it deems appropriate.”

Dr Riddell said that the matter was now being brought to the community council because Counsel’s opinion was that it was the appropriate body to take the case forward.

However, he warned - “It is a serious and grave step for the community council to be considering taking legal action against its parent body.”

If any action is taken by the community council it is likely to be a move to call a Judicial Review - a process that allows the courts to look at how Fife Council reached their decision and whether they acted illegally, irrationally or there was any perceived impropriety in the way that the decision was reached.

It is understood that Counsel’s opinion suggests that there are several grounds for such a Judicial Review.

The cost of such an action is already high on community councillors’ minds, and the financial consequences if any action is unsuccessful and any claim is than made against the council or Fife Council.

Dr Riddell confirmed that members of the public had already pledged in excess of £10,000 towards a legal campaign, however he accepted it could cost three or more times that.

Prior to Monday’s special meeting, Community Council Secretary Pete Lindsay has advised members of their financial obligations as a council.

Apart from community councillors and Fife Council’s four St Andrews representatives, a special invitation to Monday’s meeting has gone to Menzies Campbell MP, lain Smith MSP and Euro MP John Purvis. The Chairman of St Andrews Preservation Trust, which has vociferously opposed the Kingask development, has also been invited to attend. Solicitors acting for the members of the public who called for the meeting as also to attend.

While the special meeting will be open to members of the public, the Community Council Secretary has already indicated that some matters may be discussed in private.