Opposition to plans for seventh course

The Courier, 23 January 2004

Controversial plans by St Andrews Links Trust for a seventh golf course on the edges of the town have been opposed by St Andrews Community Council, amid claims that it is premature and is a threat to the town’s proposed green belt and its landscape setting.

While the community organisation finds “less than convincing” the arguments which purport to establish the need for the new 18-hole course on a 200-acre site of farmland at Brownhills and Kinkell, another main concern of members is the choice of location.

Outlining the detailed objections submitted to Fife Council, community council’s planning committee convener Dr Ian Goudie said that although the boundaries of the green belt are yet to be determined, it was acknowledged that “the most likely scenario” is that the site will be within the green belt.

He said, “Throughout its existence the community council has been a jealous guardian of the reputation of St Andrews as the home of golf.

“We are also, however, conscious of the need to maintain our perspective and to safeguard the well-being of the town as a whole.

“The beauty of the landscape setting is a key element of that well-being. It is a cornerstone of the tourist industry, and by no means an insignificant factor in attracting students to the university, which remains by far our principal source of employment.”

The community council maintains that the strength of support in St Andrews for the concept of the green belt needs no underlining, although members appreciate that it will take some years to get the boundaries into place.

Dr Goudie said that the landscape setting of the town is under considerable threat in the intervening period.

He explained, “The outcome of the recent planning inquiry implies the sad loss of the hillside above John Knox Road, and further encroachment into land which we would wish to see in the green belt may come not only from the present application, but also from the proposed golfing development at Feddinch, the proposed Clash Wood chalet development, the proposed hospital and healthcare centre and the enormous proposed Western development.

“The principle of the prematurity of proposed developments in the green belt is thus central to the protection of the landscape setting of the town until the boundaries are determined in the local plan.

“Where major applications are concerned, to permit the creation of any category which is deemed exempt from the prematurity clause would clearly be misguided, and would set a precedent which would be liable to undermine the clear intention of this part of the structure plan.”

In its objections, the community council has made it clear that it is not only within probable green belt land, but also that it is on the undeveloped coast, which it has always been keen to protect.

The community council also maintains there are a number of “serious shortcomings” in the applicant’s environmental statement and has called on the local authority to seek clarification of parts of the document.

Dr Goudie added, “Despite its size, the statement leaves some important questions unanswered, whilst in other places the submitted material raises more questions than it answers.”

Questioning the need for a seventh course, the community council has expressed concern over the inconsistencies between the data on the full environmental statement and that in the non-technical summary.

The council has urged the local authority to seek more comprehensive data covering a significantly longer timespan and claimed that, bearing in mind the dates of recent Open Championships, the starting points for the time series data appears to have been chosen to maximise the apparent growth in golfing activity in St Andrews over the last few years.

Dr Goudie continued, “The environmental statement says that between 1995 and 2003 the total rounds played on the links courses has increased from 168,200 to 211,000 - an increase of 25% in total rounds played.“

There is no indication to suggest that such growth will not continue. If this is correct and such an increase is typical, the long-term position is not sustainable.“

If overall demand continues to increase at 25% every seven years, then by 2016, twice the capacity of 1995 will be needed to cater for it. If demand from local golf club members living outwith north-east Fife continues to increase at 60% every four years, it will by 2018 have exploded to 10 times its volume in 1998. Manifestly the town cannot cope with expansion on this scale.”The community council has also pointed out that it is “important,” if a case is being made for the seventh course, to establish that local demand is indeed transferable from the present links to the proposed new course.

Dr Goudie added, “The environmental statement advances no data to substantiate such a proposition. The extent to which local golfers would be prepared to make such a move should be investigated and quantified.”

The community council has also labelled the traffic impact assessment (TIA) within the environmental statement as “inadequate,” with particular concern being expressed over the methodology used to assess trip generation, and has called on Fife Council to seek a full TIA, with trip generation estimates based on more locally relevant data.

The council is also pressing for a fuller and more objective economic impact assessment than that which is included in the present environmental statement.

In particular, members claim that it asserts, “with minimal justification,” that the creation of a new course by the trust should benefit most relevant businesses both in St Andrews and in the surrounding area.

Dr Goudie said, “A fuller analysis is required, covering, in particular, the effects on the under-utilised private golf courses in the area, and on local restaurants. The present links clubhouse in St Andrews is already seen by some as having a negative impact on town centre restaurants.

”The multi-million pound plans by the trust for the clifftop site to the south-east of St Andrews - around a mile from the town centre - also include a 40-seater restaurant, a greenkeepers’ shed, a clubhouse and ancillary buildings.