Detailed objections to proposed golf course

The Courier, 7 January 2004

Controversial proposals by St Andrews Links Trust to develop a seventh golf course in the town have run into opposition from St Andrews Community Council.

Detailed objections to the trust’s plans for the multi-million pound development on a clifftop site on the edges of the town will be completed over the next few days before being lodged by the community organisation with Fife planners - but not all members agree with the decision taken after a series of votes.

The trust, which already administers six golf courses in St Andrews, is planning the new 18-hole course and ancillary buildings, including a greenkeepers’ shed, a clubhouse and restaurant, on a 200-acre site of farmland at Brownhills and Kinkell to the south-east of St Andrews, around one mile from the town centre.

When the plans came up for discussion at the latest meeting of the community council there were clear divisions during the debate with several speakers urging that the body should follow the stance taken by the St Andrews Green Belt Forum and the conservation pressure group, St Andrews Preservation Trust, not to oppose the plans.

However, planning convener Dr Ian Goudie claimed there were a number of “serious shortcomings” in the associated environmental statement submitted by the applicants and less than convincing arguments to support their case for the need for another golf course.

In criticising the consultants’ report, Dr Goudie said that the trust should also be required by Fife Council to undertake a full traffic impact assessment.

He said, “There is already an under-utilisation of golf courses in the area and the case by the trust in statistical terms for a new course is dubious. The future of the town depends on this job being done properly. If a precedent is set here it will be quoted by subsequent developers.

“The trust has failed to provide adequate information for the demand for a new course and also detailed information on traffic impact.”

He was supported by Dr Frank Riddell, who said that his primary concern was the impact of the development on the St Andrews Greene Belt, while Penny Uprichard claimed that the trust planned to move local golfers to the new course to allow “more paying Americans” to play on the links.

However, two former chairmen of the community organisation, Dennis Macdonald and Murdo Macdonald, along with fellow member Joe Peterson voiced their opposition to the lodging of objections to the plans.

They pointed out that the trust was responding to the increased demand to play golf on the St Andrews links, while fellow member Archie Strachan said he accepted the idea of the new golf course in principle.

Several speakers also hinted that if the buildings on the site were “less obtrusive” and even reduced in number - the necessity for a restaurant was questioned in particular - then they might view the trust’s proposals more favourably.

Summarising the community council’s objections - all of which were passed by a majority - Dr Goudie said, “The implication of the Fife Structure Plan is that this application for probable green belt land should be deemed premature. To do otherwise would set a very dangerous precedent for the town.

“Also, the proposal does not comply with Structure Plan Policy N7 on development on the undeveloped coast, while the applicants’ case for a new course is an amalgam of statistical and legal arguments, but neither of these strands is pursued with sufficient precision to be persuasive.

“Finally, the methodology used to assess the numbers of vehicle trips which would be generated by the proposed development is unsound. The predicted figures are likely to be serious underestimates.

“One can therefore have no confidence in the conclusion that a full traffic impact assessment is not required.”

The new course has a target opening date of 2006-07 with a choice of five tees to suit all abilities.

Scottish-born golf course architect David McLay Kidd has been commissioned by the trust to design the new course after being selected from a shortlist of six eminent architects.