Council may take action over Kingask

The Citizen, 26 February 2000

Fife Council have fired a warning shot across the bows of St Andrews Bay Development Ltd., for breaching agreed levels of construction traffic travelling to and from the Kingask site.

Council Chief Executive, Douglas Sinclair, said this week: “The option of legal action to enforce the S75 agreement will be exercised by the council if agreement with the developer is not reached urgently.”

Councillor William Brand, chair of the council’s Strategic Development Committee, confirmed: “The Head of Law and Administration has prepared legal proceedings for service on the developer if there is not a satisfactory outcome to discussions which are being actively pursued.

“The developer has accepted the seriousness of the situation and the importance which the council attaches to resolving this matter urgently.

“As a result, progress is being made in discussions and I would expect to know if agreement can be reached by next week.

“If not, the council will proceed to court.”

The increased quota of 20 vehicle movements per day through the town en route to the construction site at Kingask was eventually approved last month at Fife Council’s Strategic Development Committee.

The figure doubled the amount of construction traffic agreed to in the original Section 75 traffic plan.

St Andrews West Councillor Frances Melville, recently appointed chair of the East Area Development Committee, said this week that failure to enforce the legal requirements of Section 75 - an intrinsic part of the controversial development being given the go-ahead - would rob both Fife Council and the planning service of any credibility.