Scooniehill public inquiry set to begin

Gordon Berry, The Courier, 20 November 2000

The future of the £25 million golf and leisure development planned for the 460-acre Scooniehill site south of St Andrews hangs on the findings of a public inquiry which will start in the town tomorrow.

The eyes and ears of developers who have plans waiting in the wings for other prime land in the area are sure to be firmly focused on proceedings which are expected to last well into next week.

Among those expected to give evidence are councillors who successfully opposed the plans, the applicants and their supporters, representatives of a range of national conservation bodies and locally-based objectors.

Included in the proposals from the International Golf Club of St Andrews are two new golf courses, residential suites, leisure facilitates and a clubhouse.

The plans have been in the Fife Council pipeline in one form or another for two years, and during the process, concerns have been expressed over delays and the applicants expressed their "bewilderment" over confusion which arose as negotiations with the council proceeded.

The final application - which had been amended from an earlier version so that areas of built development would be less conspicuous - was rejected in spite of a positive recommendation from planning officials.

As a result, none of the council’s own planning experts will be giving evidence to support the refusal, and the local authority’s case will have to be put by elected members.

They will be led by the chairwoman of the council’s East Area development committee, councillor Frances Melville, who will have to justify reasons for refusal, which included prematurity and possible traffic impact.

Concern had also been expressed about construction vehicles, traffic impact in the town centre, difficulties in implementing proposals put forward in a green travel plan, and the fact that decisions were at that time still awaited about the possibility of a green belt around the town.

The applicants are sure to make great play of the fact that the council’s own planning officials, local councillor Peter Douglas, and the most directly affected community council, all backed the scheme.

They had put their weight behind the views of planners, who clearly stated in a report that the scheme would not be detrimental to the area.

A heavyweight group of objectors includes local bodies such as the community council and preservation trust, and national groups such as Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.

The inquiry is being held in St Andrews Town Hall and the evidence is to be heard by Scottish Executive Reporter Ian Lumsden.