Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Benidorm’ battle on horizon over £35m Fife loch holiday development bid

One objector states: "This is a natural beauty spot, not Benidorm."

Site of the former Mountcastle Quarry and now the located of Eden Springs Fishery and Country Park.
The Mountcastle Quarry site near Cupar. Image: Eden Muir Limited

A Fife community council is leading a “David and Goliath battle” against plans for a £35 million holiday park on its doorstep.

Letham residents are alarmed by the proposal for 75 lodges at the site of a former quarry.

And they have lodged a barrage of objections, citing environmental, pollution and transport fears.

One comment reads: “This is a natural beauty spot, not Benidorm.”

Dunfermline-based Eden Muir has submitted a planning application with Fife Council for the development on the site of its Eden Springs Fishery.

The proposed layout of the holiday park at Eden Springs Fishery.
The proposed layout of the holiday park at Eden Springs Fishery.

The bid also includes crazy golf, a play area, bike storage and reception.

It has received 64 letters of support from people, hoping for a vital tourism boost in the wake of the covid pandemic.

However, Monimail community council fears the destruction of a natural haven and is at the forefront of the fight against it.

Fife holiday park plan ‘beggars belief’

Chairman David Hamilton says the development would be on the site of a nature reserve, created to compensate locals for years of gravel extraction at Mountcastle Quarry.

The fishery was granted permission in 2022, after the Scottish Government overturned a Fife Council refusal.

The former Mountcastle quarry site in north east Fife.

And Mr Hamilton adds: “At the time, the community suspected this was a trojan horse development.

“That appears to have been the case as less than 18 months later, plans have been lodged for 75 holiday lodges on the nature reserve.”

Another of the 71 objectors states: “The site was only recently reinstated as a nature reserve after quarry works.

“It beggars belief that just a few years later, that natural haven could be destroyed.”

Jobs and tourism boost hopes

However, other comments lodged on the council’s planning portal are in favour of the park.

One says: “The project will support up to 38 jobs, which will likely go to local people.”

And another reads: “It will offer a vital boost in local tourism, which will help Fife in its recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic.”

Eden Muir says its development has been carefully designed to complement the fishery.

And director Chris Ritchie said the visitor accommodation will enhance their offering.

“As we move forward with our plans, we remain committed to ongoing collaboration with local community groups and engaged stakeholders,” he said.

Fife Council’s north east planning committee will decide on the application on August 14.

Conversation