Kingask is a 'monstrous plook,' says councillor

Gordon Berry , The Courier, 8 November 2000

The new £50 million St Andrews Bay resort development, rapidly taking shape on a prominent rural site at Kingask to the east of the town is a "monstrous plook" which spoils the area’s landscape setting.

This scathing comment about a structure which can now be clearly seen on the skyline from parts of St Andrews, and from as far away as Balmullo, was made yesterday by East Neuk councillor Peter Douglas during a meeting of Fife Council’s East Area development committee.

The committee was discussing the finalised draft of the new Fife Structure Plan, which will serve as a blueprint for new development for public and private interests wishing to invest, for local plans, and for planning applications.

One feature of the plan is provision of a "green belt" for St Andrews which was included only after Fife Council faced a local campaign.

The meeting was told that over half of the 500 responses to the draft structure plan had related to green belt issues, and that there was now a policy dealing specifically with provision in St Andrews.

The policy spells out the the requirement that a green belt which will control views in and out of the town, and protect some of the town’s boundaries, will be developed to the north and south of St Andrews.

It goes on to state that there will be a "presumption against all development in the green belt where there is intervisibility between the development site and the town’s historic core unless it would result in enhancement to existing views or in no material alteration to them."

The exact boundaries of any green belt will be determined within the local plan process, but it is pointed out that the areas will have a positive role to play in providing opportunities for access to the countryside for informal recreation and for landscape enhancement.

Mr Douglas made several comments about the green belt proposal, and he said in comments echoed by several other councillors, that there were concerns locally that the area to the west of the town was not included in the green belt.

He also said, however, that the change of mind by the council was welcomed, especially since it had seemed that its attitude was one of "over my dead body."

Mr Douglas then drew comparison between the terms of the green belt policy and landscape policy and the new 209 bedroom hotel, leisure and golf complex being built at Kingask.

He said that that the development was "a monstrous plook" which overlooked St Andrews and spoiled the landscape setting, and that it was clearly against policy.

Senior council planning official David Sneddon told the meeting that the built heritage of St Andrews’ historic core was of national and even international importance, and that the green belt would focus on protection of the landscape.

In answer to the point made about land to the west of the town, he said that there had been a feeling that there could be some development potential in that area.

Mr Sneddon added, however, that no need for any additional housing land had been identified for the ten years of the structure plan’s life, and once the plan was approved there would be a presumption against any development before 2011.