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.

St Andrews Holiday Park extension plans could bring 134 more caravans ‘to meet demand’

Objectors have already expressed concerns about the effect on views, countryside and the environment,

How the extension to St Andrews Holiday Park would look
How the extension to St Andrews Holiday Park would look. Image: Fife planning portal

Fife’s biggest holiday park operator is planning a major extension to its St Andrews site to meet sustained demand.

Abbeyford Leisure wants to add another 134 static caravans, increasing the size of St Andrews Holiday Park by nearly a third.

Caravans at St Andrews Holiday Park. Image: Fife planning portal

The company says the park on the south side of the town has been operating at full capacity since 2017.

And there are no areas of land to develop within its boundaries.

However, Abbeyford could face a fight as the agricultural land earmarked for the expansion falls within the St Andrews Green Belt.

And this means development is strictly controlled.

Boarhills and Dunino Community Council says it “strongly objects” to the planning application and is calling for public support.

Meanwhile, St Andrews Community Council has also asked to be consulted.

St Andrews Holiday Park plan prompts fears for views and environment

Boarhills and Dunino fear the impact on the view over St Andrews Bay.

And they also cite impact on the built and natural environment, noise and light pollution among their objections.

But Fife’s planning policy supports tourism developments, and Abbeyford says there is a proven need for a countryside location.

It adds that the scale and nature of their plan is compatible with the surrounding area.

Their planning application proposes “generously-sized pitches accessed off simple loop roads”.

Caravans will be finished in green timber effect with a wrap-around deck.

And it will be bounded by native hedgerows, trees and shrubs, which the applicants say are sensitive to the local environment.

They add: “It will provide an attractive, high-quality caravan park extension for tourists.”

Strong demand for holiday caravan pitches

Abbeyford Leisure also owns caravan parks at Shell Bay, St Monans and Kinkell Braes and says it has a growing waiting list for caravans.

“St Andrews Holiday Park is a successful and long-established business, which is a very popular destination for holiday-makers,” they add.

St Andrews Holiday park extension site
The site of St Andrews Holiday Park extension. Image: Fife planning portal

And they say the extension would have a positive economic impact on the local area.

“Over recent years, a number of caravan parks in the area…have all obtained planning permissions to extend their respective parks,” they say.

“We contend this emphasises the very strong and sustained demand for holiday caravan pitches in north east Fife.”

The public has until the start of September to comment on the application.

A decision will be made by Fife Council is due course.

Conversation