A leading north-east Fife councillor has spoken out in the strongest possible terms about the situation facing the area as a result of provisions in the St Andrews and East Fife local plan.
Councillor Frances Melville, who is Fife provost and the former planning convener in north-east Fife, said the public and communities have been let down, and that no other issue she had ever had to deal with had caused her such “deep dissatisfaction.”
Calls are being made for change, and a possible review of the structure plan provisions which have led to the future of Cupar and St Andrews being dominated by major strategic land allocations at a time of huge and long-term change in the economic climate.
The view has been expressed by councillors that the council has become hog-tied by some housing proposals felt by many to be unrealistic and unworkable.
The local plan has attracted well over 2000 comments, representations and objections, but there is a widespread feeling among councillors and members of the public that views have been ignored by council officials.
Mrs Melville said that her concern and unhappiness is over the lack of democracy in this process.
“I feel we have let the public and our communities down.
“When more than 1400 responses were sent in at the first time of asking, I really thought that it would be too much to ask them to send in further comments.Informed comments”Yet more than 750 responses were made, articulately and fairly expressed, and with many respondents taking care and attention to planning detail and putting much effort into their informed comments.”
Turning specifically to St Andrews, where she is one of the four ward councillors, she said most people knew little could be done about the 1090 extra planned houses, but she had always understood the local plan would determine their best locations.
“A large part will be on the west side of the town, but one of the basic tenets of the structure plan is that it is deemed preferable to build on brownfield before greenfield.
“The reasoned plea and argument is that units that could possibly be built on some of the brownfield sites such as the old hospital site, surplus for St Leonards Fields, Kilrymont and Madras South Street, should be deducted from that 1090.”
This, she said, is not much to ask and would mitigate the impact on the landscape setting of the town.Common sense”Everyone is simply asking for some common sense and rationale to be applied, recognising the historic and beautiful setting of St Andrews and the fact that social and mixed housing is essential. It seems our pleas are falling on stony ground.
“Along with my colleagues I am deeply unhappy that many of the points made have been rejected,” she said.
Mrs Melville, echoing views of the other committee members, said that they had been given only six days to assimilate, dissect and digest more than 600 pages of documents from a CD.
The situation, she said, had been “totally unsatisfactory” and did not do justice to all the representations made.
“This is a really serious issue.
“The decisions made on this local plan will have far-reaching effects on our landscape and communities and infrastructure.
“As an ordinary ward member who has fought over the years tenaciously on many issues, particularly planning, I feel this process has let many people down and is not one which should be repeated,” she said.