Three former teachers who lodged a legal challenge against Fife Council’s granting of planning permission for a new £40 million Madras College on greenbelt land at Pipeland have been officially challenged by the council.
It comes amid warnings from councillors that a judicial review decision might not emerge from the Court of Session until at least the end of March, bringing yet further delay to the new Madras project.
The local authority, which has formally intimated its intention to defend its decision, has called on the petitioners to explain how they have standing or sufficient interest to challenge the planning approval.
St Andrews Environmental Protection Association Limited (STEPAL) whose named directors are former Madras rector Lindsay Matheson and former teachers Mary Jack and Sandra Thomson did not formally object to the planning application, having been incorporated after the planning decision notice had been issued.
The petitioners have made application for a protective expenses order to restrict their liability for judicial expenses in the event they are unsuccessful in their action. The petitioners will be required to satisfy the court of their financial status by giving prescribed background information.
However, this information had not been provided and the petitioners have been formally called on to set out the basis for them being awarded the order.
If the petitioners are successful in their motion for a protective expenses order, the petitioners’ potential liability if unsuccessful in the judicial review proceedings overall will be limited to £5,000.
Taybridgehead councillors Tim Brett and Maggie Taylor met senior solicitors of the council to discuss the arrangements for the judicial review, which STEPAL lodged with the Court of Session in August. The court has set the first hearing in Edinburgh for December 3, with December 16 now set to hear the petition’s merits.
Mrs Taylor said: “This whole process has taken far too long and must be having an adverse effect on the education of our children.”
The petitioners believe the council failed to act in a “fair and impartial” manner when it disregarded what they believe is a far more suitable site owned by the university at North Haugh. They also believe too much emphasis has been put on educational need without planning considerations being fully considered.
The Pipeland bid has not been immune to problems, however. A detailed planning application has been delayed after Fife Council was asked by one of its own departments to prove there is no flood risk.