Fife Council plan no change to Links Act

Craig Nisbet, The Citizen, 9 April 1999

Fife Council officials yesterday recommended that no changes were needed to the Act of Parliament that lays down how St Andrews Links are run.

The recommendation was put to members of the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee at the end of an extensive public consultation exercise carried out by the new authority.

While recommending no changes to the Act, they did however put forward suggestions as to areas of the Links administration they would like to see clarified.

In particular, the Council’s Head of Law and Administration, recommended that the allocation of responsibilities between Links Trust and Links Management Committee should be "much more clearly defined”, and suggested discussions on this matter with a report to the Council at a future date.

Fife Council are also recommending further consideration of whether the current Westminster MP or the new member of the Scottish Parliament should be a trustee. Most of the bodies who took part in the consultation favoured the new Scottish MP as a trustee.

During the consultation process some of the most significant suggestions for change were put forward by Fife Chamber of Commerce who suggested that a Board of Director, from across Fife, should run the Links and that the local authority and Royal and Ancient Golf Club should not continue to enjoy significant rights of nomineeship.

The Council’s Head of Law and Administration, Mr D.S. Allan, said in his recommendations that both the Council and R & A should continue to enjoy significant rights of nomination, but that the existing arrangement whereby they give up places on the Trust to local clubs should continue, and that a similar arrangement should apply to the Management Committee.

Mr Allan also concluded that the financial arrangements for the Trust were satisfactory and that the Trustees were properly accountable. He also considered it appropriate that further discussions should take place with the R & A on the number of reserved times they receive and the fees they pay to the Trust.

He added that there was a general consensus that any improvements to the constitution or management of the Trust should be agreed on a voluntary basis rather than promoting any amendments to the Links Act, which would need a new Bill in the Scottish Parliament.

It was also recommended that the constitution and management of St Andrews Links should be reviewed at an appropriate time in the future.