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Councillors accused of making ‘highly misleading statements’ during Madras College planning process

An excambion was ruled out because the sites at South Street and North Haugh varied so greatly in their valuations.
An excambion was ruled out because the sites at South Street and North Haugh varied so greatly in their valuations.

A war of words has broken out between St Andrews University and Fife Council over a university-owned site rejected by the council during the debate over a new single-site Madras College.

St Andrews University has accused senior Fife councillors of making “highly misleading statements” during the planning process with regard to the university-owned “pond site” at North Haugh.

Fife Council’s education spokesperson has strongly rejected the comments, claiming it is the university making “highly misleading” remarks.

The comments emerged after The Courier contacted St Andrews University to ask if it would take the pond site off the table now the Scottish Government has said it would not “call in” Fife Council’s recently approved planning application in principle for a new Madras at Pipeland.

The site on the southern hillside has proved highly controversial because it is green belt land and a departure from the development plan.

Despite a campaign by several groups promoting the benefits of a school site on the west side of town, senior administration Fife councillors publicly ruled out the “pond site” last year because it was deemed to have drainage problems and would be too expensive. An excambion offered by the university for the existing Madras site at South Street valued at £3.5 million was also ruled out because the North Haugh site was only valued by the district valuer at around £280,000.

The Pipeland decision was welcomed by campaign group Parent Voice, which has repeatedly highlighted the urgent need for a new Madras to replace the crumbling split-site facilities at Kilrymont and South Street.

A university spokesman said: “As has been well documented, we withdrew from lengthy negotiations with Fife Council on plans for the new Madras at Langlands several years ago in the hope that the council could find a speedy solution, free of the need to satisfy a complex partnership with us.

“Regrettably for all, the council could not find a quick solution. We made the subsequent offer of a simple excambion of the pond site at North Haugh in good faith and again in the hope of a quick solution, and have always stressed that it was for the council alone to determine whether or not it was suitable for its needs.”

But the university spokesman added: “It was very surprising therefore that some Fife councillors recently made public statements claiming that the reason they could not consider the pond site was that the university had insisted the council provide a £3.5 million access road as part of the deal.

“For the record, these claims were absolutely false. No such condition was ever proposed, mentioned or even implied by this university as part of the simple pond site offer, and we believed Fife Council officers and senior leadership were well aware of this.

“We are extremely relieved that there may now be an end in sight to the Madras saga, but concerned that on a matter of public importance, elected representatives made highly misleading public statements about the terms of our offer.

“We hope the Scottish Government decision will be the catalyst to bring the town together behind the vision for a new school and are committed to working closely with Fife Council and Madras to strengthen the academic, sporting and community links that already exist between a great school and the town’s university.”