Revised hotel plans for Kingask site

Plan cuts one floor and 32 bedrooms off hotel

The Courier, 18 December 1998

Controversial plans by an American entrepreneur for a £50 million hotel, conference and golf course development on a clifftop site overlooking St Andrews Bay have undergone comprehensive alteration following a wave of opposition.

In response to objections to the proposals for a greenfield site at Kingask Estate, on the outskirts of the town, the company, St Andrews Bay Development Ltd, have produced a new, radically-revised blueprint for the land.

According to company chairman Dr Don Panoz, the decision to amend the plans was taken following objections from local residents and a number of organisations - including St Andrews Community Council and conservation pressure group, St Andrews Preservation Trust - coupled with suggestions from Fife Council planning chiefs.

The principal modifications for the land, two miles southeast of St Andrews, represent a 30% reduction in size compared to the original proposals, matched wit increased landscaping of the site.

St Andrews Bay Development Ltd had applied to Fife Council for permission to develop a 240-bed room hotel - one of the largest ever in Scotland and the length of a full-size football pitch - leisure and conference facilities, an entrance lodge and 10 Scottish “manor” type houses on the site. A second application involved the construction of two 18-hole golf courses.

The Preservation Trust claimed that the coastline of St Andrews - described by King James VI of Scotland as “a fringe of gold” - would suffer unacceptable change if the original plans were given the green light by the local authority.

They also maintained that the multi-million pound commercial complex constituted a “gesture of defiance” to the local authority’s efforts to preserve the local environment, as well as contravening several aspects of its planning policy and the St Andrews Local Plan.

The community council branded the development proposals as “an unmitigated planning disaster,” not wanted in St Andrews. Their main case focused on the wider implications of the project on the future of the university town which, they maintained, had not been sufficiently considered and taken into account.

Particularly strong criticism was levelled by the community body on the traffic impact study made in support of the planning application which, they claimed, “grossly underestimated” the likely effect on the town centre. Other criticisms centred on the impact on an area of great landscape value and unbuilt coastline, and the loss of prime agricultural land.

Dr Panoz explained yesterday that the revised plans showed the hotel reduced from 240 to 208 rooms and relocated to the rear of the site. He added that “this major reduction in scale” had resulted in the removal of an entire storey.

He also said that of equal significance was their willingness to respond to local objections by halving the number of proposed Scottish “manors” from 10 to five, and resiting them to the very back of the development.

Dr Panoz said that the “manors” were viewed as a key feature of the development and, like the hotel itself, were designed to blend in with traditional Fife architecture.

He stated, “We have listened very carefully to local objections and to the helpful advice of the planners and responded quickly and effectively. We have produced major modifications to our original plans, which had already received outline planning approval.

“While positively reacting to local suggestions and comments, we have succeeded in maintaining the unique character of this world-class development which will be an enhancement to the Kingask Estate and, indeed, to the North East Fife environment.

“We have reduced the size of the hotel, conference centre, Scottish “manors” and car parking facilities, while significantly increasing landscaping and planting. By re-locating the “manors” and the hotel we have maintained the clear visual link from St Andrews across the coastal plain.

“We hope that our rapid and comprehensive response to local concerns will now enable this superb development to proceed.”

It is envisaged that the golf courses and luxury hotel - commanding spectacular views into St Andrews - will cater for blue-chip company conferences, generating over £14 million a year for the Fife economy. Guests at the complex will extend the tourist season into a 12-month operation, said Dr Panoz, pouring millions of pounds in additional consumer spending into local hotels, shops and restaurants.

The developers aim to have the complex operational in time for The Open Championship in St Andrews in the year 2000. The project will create 400 to 500 jobs during the construction stage, and 300 permanent posts in the hotel and other facilities.

Dr Panoz was responsible for the Chateau Elan complex near Atlanta, Georgia, one of the most elegant resort destinations in North America, and the Legends West layout at Diablo Grande in California.