St Andrews must not be exploited by outsiders

Colin McAllister, Letters to Editor, Scotland on Sunday, 5 December 2004

With 7,000 students and 700,000 visitors against a local population of 16,000, I think St Andrews is already doing its bit for the local and wider Scottish economy and society (‘St Andrews revolts over re-brand’, News, November 28).

What I and other locals object to is an unelected group of outsiders telling us what is good for us, and proposing to spend other people’s taxes in the process.

St Andrews residents pay high levels of council tax and yet we are not consulted as to how we would like our town to be, and are always placed last in consideration after students and visitors. We are not ‘a product’, we are a community of citizens, and we are certainly not ‘underachieving’.

If Fife Council, Fife Enterprise and all the other members of this self-appointed group want to help improve the quality of life for residents, tourists and students, then here for free are some ideas.

• Re-excavate the old railway cutting to create a multi-storey car park with access from Argyle Street and the old railway station. This would provide a car park which people would readily use and would therefore reduce traffic congestion.

• Build a new Olympic-sized swimming pool to replace the present paddling pool on the East Sands. This new pool, sited near the North Haugh, would be alongside a curling/skating rink and heated via a heat exchanger from that source.

Alongside would be squash/badminton courts with associated changing rooms and a bar/restaurant. These facilities would be jointly financed by Fife Council, the university, RAF Leuchars and the like, and usage would be shared accordingly.

Not every visitor to St Andrews wants to play golf, nor is the weather always congenial, especially in winter.

Imagine the Scottish curling or swimming championships taking place here, in the off-season for golf. Imagine local youth who have "nothing to do" being given facilities that would keep them occupied, and the consequent reduction in "mindless vandalism caused by boredom and neglect!

• Reconnect St Andrews to the national railway system and this will take a lot of cars off the streets. It is a disgrace that a town of 16,000 with 7,000 students and which stages the Open Golf Championship every five years, attracting crowds of around 250,000, does not have a railway station.

• Build a rail link to Edinburgh Airport - this also will remove traffic from our roads.

"Without vision, the people perish." What we have at the moment is a deplorable lack of vision and an arrogance of self-interested bodies, both public and private.

St Andrews is already world class, and we St Andreans are proud of our city and want to keep it that way.

We are happy to share our good fortune with visitors and students, but are not prepared to be relegated to second class status in our own town. We will not stand by and allow outsiders to ruin our home. We owe it to future generations not only of St Andrews but also of fellow Scots and all those who love our town to defend our heritage.