Fife Council left local residents in the dark over a decision to sell off a ‘hidden gem’ East Neuk nature reserve.
The council is planning to sell off Gillingshill Reservoir and Nature Reserve – a tucked away beauty spot north of St Monans.
David High, 57, recently moved into the nearby village of Arncroach.
“A lot of the people I know in the village never knew and weren’t consulted,” he said.
David has a background in environmental biology and trained as a countryside ranger.
He hopes to set up a ‘Friends of Gillingshill’ group to make sure local people have a say in the future of the reserve.
“The main reason I want to get people involved is because they didn’t know in the first place.
“We can’t allow the nature reserve to be just passed on without us having a bit of a say.
“It would have been nice to have been offered a say in the actual sale of it.
‘It’s a beautiful place’
“Obviously the public here want to use the reserve for their health and wellbeing.
“It’s a beautiful place. You can understand why the community want to hold on to it.”
Gillingshill Reservoir once supplied East Neuk residents with drinking water but is now surplus to requirements. And the council is looking to save cash.
The council is selling Clatto Reservoir near Cupar for the same reason.
And the authority maintains it handled the decision appropriately.
It says it made local councillors, Arncroach and Carnbee Community Development Trust, and Anstruther Dreel Burn Restoration Group aware of the plans.
However, there was no active community council to include in a consultation.
Therefore, not everybody knew about it.
There are now concerns that it will be impossible to find a buyer because of the expense involved in maintaining and monitoring the reservoir.
“The council wants to save money of course,” said David.
“It’s all down to money. They want someone else to step in.
“But the chances of finding a buyer are very slim.”
Council assurance over public access
Property investment and development manager Ronnie Hair confirmed the council is proposing to sell Gillingshill and Clatto reservoirs.
He said this was happening because they are no longer operational.
While there are discussions with a “potential purchaser” over Clatto, Gillingshill has yet to go on the market.
Ronnie said the sale of Gillingshill would be “subject to a management agreement” to maintain its Nature Reserve status, and preserve public access.
Independent councillor Linda Holt described the lack of consultation as “disappointing”.
She described Gillingshill as “one of the East Neuk’s hidden gems” which local residents have “cherished for years”.
