The development company behind plans for a £9 million food store and hotel complex in St Andrews is expected to start construction work next month.
Crucible (St Andrews) Limited has announced that an M&S Simply Food store and a 65-bedroom Premier Inn Hotel are expected to open in late June next year.
The development will be built on the site of the former abattoir on Largo Road.
Crucible (St Andrews) Ltd development director Brian Robinson yesterday called the progress “very good news indeed”.
He said: “We are delighted to share this with the people of St Andrews at last. We are aware that the public will, naturally, have been getting restless and wondering when they were going to see work begin with the eyesore buildings at the site at the moment finally removed and demolished.
“We can reassure them that we are as keen as them to see the site cleared and ready for construction and we are now only a few weeks away from a hive of activity beginning, which will deliver this new development to the town, creating around 80 full and part-time jobs in the process.”
Mr Robinson said, following receipt of planning at the start of the year, Crucible (St Andrews) had legally documented its Section 75 Agreement with Fife Council and had dealt with the planning conditions set by the council. The firm has obtained a building warrant to enable it to get on-site and start building work.
He added: “There is a great deal of pre-construction preparatory work which has to be done in cases like this, before construction can start, and it does take time.
“We also had to finalise the detailed design of the new development and agree the final internal layouts with both Premier Inn and Marks and Spencer. There were necessary site investigations to carry out, too, to ensure there was and is no contamination on the site.”
The Premier Inn Hotel that forms part of the build will feature a first for Scotland: a bespoke and secure golf club storage area.