Liaison Committee for Kingask development

The Citizen, 24 Mar 2000

A move to make sure lines of communication are kept open between the local community and St Andrews Bay Development Ltd is set to be approved by Fife Council.

A Liaison Committee has been set up to give local residents an opportunity to hear, first hand, the latest happenings on site at the Kingask development and how future developments are likely to affect the local community.

The committee will also allow residents to raise any concerns about Kingask directly with the developer.

Chair of the council’s Strategic Development Committee, Bill Brand, explained that the new Liaison Committee would be made up of representatives from Boarhills and Dunino Community Council, St Andrews Community Council, local Councillor Peter Douglas, Chair of the council’s East Area Development Committee Frances Melville, Planning Spokesperson Bill Kay and representatives from St Andrews Bay Development Ltd.

He added: “Liaison committees have proved very useful in the past when major developments are on the go. We’re keen to see useful relationships forged between the developer and the local community and believe that this is a positive move for all concerned."

Councillor Melville said: “We have responded to requests from the local community for this forum and have had an initial meeting, which went very well.

“There was a real need for a venue where people can speak openly about issues surrounding Kingask. I hope the Liaison Committee will be seen as a catalyst for future decisions and will prove to be an important voice in the life of this development."

The council’s Strategic Development Committee will also clarify the number of HGV trips allowed in and out of the Kingask site following discussions with the developer.

Councillor Brand added: “We remain committed to the previous decision of the Strategic Development Committee when it was agreed to allow an average of 20 trips per day to the site.

“The developers, at their own expense, are constructing a concrete batching plant to cut down on the number of trips - we will be keeping a close eye on the situation and vehicles will be logged on a daily basis for monitoring purposes.”

St Andrews Bay Development Ltd has agreed to pay £11,000 to meet the cost of damage caused to local roads by HGVs and the council has been given an assurance from the company that it will take responsibility for any further expenses involved in repairing damaged roads. Councilors will also be brought up-to-date with progress on the Kingask Judicial Review, now concluded in the Court of Session.

Councillor Brand concluded: “I hope that we car now start moving forward and put the negativity surrounding this issue behind us. A lot of jobs are going to be created as a result of this development which, I’m sure, will prove to be an asset for St Andrews and for Fife.”

It was hoped initially that the outcome of the legal action would be forthcoming before the end of this month, although it is now likely to be several more weeks before a judgement is issued.

Campaigners, the Review Funding Association, raised a number of issues, including a claim that the council did not order the developers to prepare an environmental impact statement, that they did not notify the Scottish Secretary or First Minister of the plan and that intelligible reasons for not giving the plan the go-ahead had not been fully provided.

The council contested these claims, maintaining that it fulfilled all of its statutory duties when considering the plan.

The review was completed earlier this month after four days of legal submissions over January and February in the Court of Session, before Lord Bonomy.