Heritage body not convinced by claims

Gordon Berry, The Courier, 21 February 2003

A leading conservation body has warned it will need to see “substantial evidence” to be convinced of claims being made about the proposed seventh golf course planned by St Andrews Links Trust.

The warning shot was fired across the bows of the trust by the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, being consulted by Fife Council over proposals for the course on and stretching from Brownhills towards the St Andrews Bay resort.

The trust, which has now concluded a deal to buy the 200-acre site, has made clear there will be a comprehensive consultation involving local and national bodies.

Yesterday the society’s east Fife area secretary, Glen Pride, said he was contacted by Fife Council, which also circulated a letter from the trust agents.

This letter, he said, makes it clear that in addition to the golf course there will be a “modest clubhouse,” a practice area, and a maintenance facility for greenkeeplng equipment.

Access is to be via the road into the recently built St Andrews sewage works.

It has been claimed for the trust that there will not be an adverse impact on the landscape, that the course will be “barely visible,” that it will be both viable and outstanding in quality and that the trust is committed to green issues and sees the development as a chance to make significant improvements.

In addition, it Is claimed that while the course will “undoubtedly generate some traffic” it is envisaged it will be used by golfers who at present travel through the town to the links.

“With this new facility it is thought that a considerable amount of traffic will be diverted away from the centre of St Andrews,” said the letter.

Mr Pride said yesterday the society was pleased the normal planning processes were to be followed because there had been an impression that the whole issue was a formality.

He said he had now written to Fife Council and had pointed out that the society had visited the site and felt many of the arguments submitted regarding the Feddinch application would be applicable - even more so as this site is a coastal one.

He said the course involved prime farm land next to an area of special scientific interest, improvement to the natural environment would be questionable and there were implications for the planned green belt for the town.

There would be impact from a clubhouse - with indications it would be on a prominent rise - and from car parking, light pollution and traffic.

Such issues, he said, had been “lightly dismissed” by agents for the trust.

“It would seem to the society that the links trust, if it continues to feel that the demand for an additional golf course is overwhelming, should pursue a search for land readily accessible from its existing courses and thus retain the genuine St Andrews environment.”

Yesterday the council’s east area development control team leader, Nick Brian, said that the whole matter was at an early stage, and all interested parties were being consulted about a “scoping opinion” which will set down the areas to be addressed in an environmental statement.

He said that this information would be used for an environmental impact assessment accompanying any planning application that may be lodged.

Issues such as those being raised by Mr Pride would all be covered in such an exercise.