New twist to Kingask centre controversy

Gordon Berry, The Courier, 20 November 1999

The bitter row over the controversial £50 million, hotel, conference centre, golf and leisure development at Kingask, near St Andrews, took a startling new turn yesterday.

It was revealed that a group of objectors to the extensive complex now under construction on a 500-acre rural site just to the east of St Andrews have raised a formal action in the Court of Session to seek a judicial review of the grant of planning permission.

A hearing has been arranged for January 12 next year, with Lord Mackay of Drumadoon QC engaged to put forward the objectors’ case.

It was revealed last month that an opinion obtained from senior counsel had concluded that there were “stateable grounds” for legal action over the manner in which Fife Council handled planning procedures.

The news broke as an appeal was launched in St Andrews for the £100,000 likely to be required to meet the cost of legal action.

It was made clear at that time that the objectors, who are acting under the name of the Review Funding Association, and who feel that a “cart and horses” has been driven through local plans for the area, saw the unusual step of judicial review as the best way forward.

Letters and pledge forms were sent out to over 800 people, and yesterday it was revealed that £50,000 has already been raised, and that as a result the group had taken the decision to formally proceed. The group still needs to raise the other £50,000 to secure itself against the possible legal expenses involved.

If their case succeeds the application would have to go back to Fife Council, and there would be the possibility of a public inquiry. The developers would not be obliged to stop work until any final decision to reject the scheme was taken either by the council or, in the case of an inquiry, the First Minister.

The action has been submitted in the names of Mrs June Baxter, Mrs Sheila Adam, Mrs Sheila Scott, Ms Deborah Moffatt, Miss Penny Uprichard and Professor Terence Lee.

The Kingask debate was the most controversial ever to be raised during formal planning processes in north-east Fife. It was marked by months of argument, accusation and counter accusation among councillors, and an obvious effect on relationships between elected members and officials.

There were repeated calls for the whole matter to be taken out of the hands of the council and subjected to the scrutiny of an independent Scottish Office inquiry, but the appeals from people who included MP Menzies Campbell and MSP Ian Smith went unheeded by the Scottish Office and the new Scottish Executive.

The Kingask development was approved after the decision-making process was taken out of the hands of local councillors - who had again indicated their opposition - and “called in” to the Labour administration-dominated strategic development committee.

Claims that pressure had been put on officials led to an inquiry which found no evidence in support of the claims, but criticised some of the council’s handling of the issue.

Cupar solicitor Robin Bennett said that there were two main grounds for judicial review in the writ.

The first, he said, was that the council failed to consider properly the impact the development would have on the environment. The second ground, said Mr Bennett, was that the council made a significant departure from development plans without notifying the Secretary of State.

Last night the leader of the administration on Fife Council, Christine May, said that the authority was satisfied that the correct procedures were followed regarding the application.