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Demolition of St Andrews shops swings into action

The demolished shops at the site in Bell Street, St Andrews.
The demolished shops at the site in Bell Street, St Andrews.

Work is under way to create a new shop and three flats in the heart of St Andrews town centre conservation area.

Demolition of the previous buildings at 8-10 Bell Street, which contained one retail outlet and a two-storey 20th Century building, began last week, with the site being totally cleared by the start of this week.

The work, undertaken on behalf of the applicant, the Edinburgh-based Ardross Partnership, required consent by Historic Scotland because of its location in the conservation area.

The development began in 2007 when planning consent was sought for the demolition of the existing buildings and the erection of a replacement.

In January 2013, permission was granted for an extension of the start date.

The plan, approved by the North East Fife area committee in February last year, involved the creation of one retail unit and three flats above.

Members of the committee had been informed that concerns over several aspects of the development had been expressed in writing by St Andrews Community Council and St Andrews Preservation Trust.

The community council said it was worried about the loss of a retail outlet, the size of the proposed flats, pressure on the infrastructure and lack of parking facilities.

Fife Council planner Alison Arthur said the proposal was considered acceptable in meeting council guidelines in terms of architectural quality, density, design and scale and would not impact on residential amenity and road safety.

On the parking issue, Ms Arthur said the applicant had submitted a transport statement which demonstrated future residents would not necessarily require the use of private vehicles.