The chairman of St Andrews Community Council has urged parents not to “get personal” as the debate over a new secondary school for the town rumbles on.
The community council has been criticised in some quarters for its stance against Fife Council’s proposed location at Pipeland for a new single-site Madras College.
Its members believe greater effort should be made to a secure a site on the west side of town despite Fife Council repeatedly ruling these sites out on practical grounds and cost.
But chairman Kyffin Roberts said he was dismayed that some of the debate had “got out of hand”, with some pro-Pipeland campaigners launching personal attacks on members of the community council through the local press and even on the streets.
Mr Roberts said he was particularly concerned that some parents had wrongly blamed the community council for a recent delay in the staging of a Fife Council pre-determination planning hearing.
When it emerged that the applicant, Fife Council education service, wanted to submit more information about its plans, last month’s hearing at St Andrews Town Hall was adjourned before it began due to legal advice but only after dozens of council officials, more than 100 members of the public and all the North East Fife councillors had turned up for what promised to be a lengthy meeting.
Mr Roberts said: “I was as surprised as anyone that the meeting was adjourned due to the inefficiency of Fife Council but to read on certain websites that the community council had delayed it again is absolute nonsense. We need to get that message across.”
He added: “It shouldn’t get personal. The whole subject has got out of hand. Neither side of the debate are bad people views just get more entrenched. They shouldn’t resort to calling each other names in the local press.”
Last March a St Andrews parent resigned from the community council after it refused to back plans for the proposed development of a new Madras College at Pipeland.
Andy Primer walked out of the meeting in disgust as around a dozen parents in the public gallery also expressed their anger at the stance taken by the community council.
However, the council has urged all views to be respected.
Following December’s departure hearing delay, Emac Planning on behalf of Fife Council education service has submitted its new information.
The planning application has been re-advertised and a new date will follow for the pre-determination hearing. It will then go to Fife Council’s North East Fife planning committee and the full Fife Council for a decision. If approved, the plans will still need the consent of Scottish Government ministers.