Fife Council will not consider swapping its £5 million South Street campus at Madras College for the lower-valued North Haugh site due to major site constraints and because it would put it £14 million over budget on the project.
St Andrews University has confirmed its offer to make the “pond site” at North Haugh available to Fife Council for a new, single-site Madras College “remains on the table”, despite the council publicly ruling it out as an option more than a year ago and reiterating its position to The Courier.
The university has confirmed this non-negotiable offer would be on the basis of a straightforward excambion an exchange of land for the South Street building of Madras.
This was the university’s original proposal to the council when it first approached it with a vision for the new Madras on the university campus at North Haugh.
The university has revealed this position was reiterated in a telephone call to a senior member of Fife Council the day before councillors narrowly voted against plans for a new school at Pipeland last week.
But Fife Council confirmed that Pipeland, on the southern edge of town, was still the only option being considered ahead of a decision by the full Fife Council next week.
In an email circulated this week among campaigners, St Andrews University corporate communications director Niall Scott said the North Haugh site’s status had been discussed in informal meetings with senior council officials, in a public forum in response to questions from St Andrews Community Council and in the press.
He said: “We have also consistently pointed out that Fife Council has said to us that it does not believe the site is suitable for its needs. We respect that opinion and it is not for the university to take issue with it, nor is it appropriate for us to lobby for or against any particular site.
“Like the vast majority of people in St Andrews, however, we share the concerns of Fife Council, Parent Voice and those campaigning for a new Madras at the North Haugh that the best possible solution be found as soon as possible.
“It is for that reason that we have left the pond site option on the table, if it were to be determined that a North Haugh school was a workable or preferable option and could be delivered in a shorter timescale than other proposals.
“This arrangement would be strictly on the basis of excambion, a straight swap for South Street, and we will not take part in lengthy discussions or negotiations over relative values etc. Such drawn out and complex negotiations were ultimately fatal to the first attempt to build a school at Langlands and we will not go down a route which delays a new school any further than has already happened.
“We have been concerned by recent public statements most recently at the north east Fife area committee to the effect that the pond site ‘is not available’ and that the university is ‘an unwilling seller’. These statements are not true.
“The pond site is available on the terms indicated. Fife Council has informed us however that it does not believe it is suitable for its needs. We must respect that view and the council has our full and continuing support in its efforts to provide a new school in St Andrews as soon as possible.”