Planners promise consultation over golf projects

The Courier, 6 May 1999

Fife Council planning chiefs have made it clear that the views of the people of St Andrews will be heeded over controversial plans for golf-related developments at Kingask, Scooniehill and Feddinch.

The assurance came during discussions between St Andrews Community Council and the local authority’s head of planning, David Rae.

Mr Rae explained that special local departure hearings organised by Fife Council to consider the three multi-million pound development could be held in June. The £50 million application for Kingask is for detailed proposals, while those at Scooniehill and Feddinch are outline applications.

Addressing the full council in St Andrews Burgh Chambers, Mr Rae stressed he did not want to see St Andrews overrun by new developments.

Commenting on the decision by councillors to have the issues determined by members of the Glenrothes based strategic development committee, he added, “This is not a case of Glenrothes versus St Andrews. I do not want St Andrews swamped and this will be avoided by proper planning.”

Mr Rae, who was accompanied by East Area planning manager Jim Birrell, said full consideration would be taken of all the studies available, including the St Andrews Strategic Study and the Local Plan.

The meeting came after the community council had claimed the recommendation for approval of the Kingask project by council planning bosses had implications for the other golf-related projects waiting in the wings.

They invited the planners to meet for talks on the relevance of consultations and studies - including strategic, transportation and landscape - to the planning process for the town.

Community council chairman Dr Frank Riddell said that it was the management of change that concerned the organisation and local people. Members raised several issues with the planning chiefs and were assured that full consultations would take place.

Mr Rae rejected calls for the strategic overview to be carried out by independent consultants, adding, “I am confident that the council has the professionals to do the job.”

On the question of traffic impact - one of the major concerns of opponents of the developments - Mr Birrell explained that three independent traffic management consultants would be engaged to look at the situation. Surveys are to be carried out this month.

Mr Rae said that among the matters under review were transportation and traffic, economic impact, St Andrews’ landscape setting, tourism, design and scale.

Questioned as to why the final decisions on the applications had been removed from the local arena, Mr Rae said that while they would affect St Andrews as a settlement, they had implications for the whole of Fife.

Following the departure hearings when objections and other arguments will be heard, recommendations will be prepared by planning of in the East Area and all three projects will come under scrutiny by members of the local area development committee in Cupar.

Although councillors will be able to express a view on the applications, the final decisions will be taken out of the hands of the local committee and passed to the central strategic development committee in Glenrothes.

Mr Rae said that the whole issue was likely to be discussed at a special meeting of that committee at the end of June.