Newsletter - 2009 Local Plan Consultation Edition
Housing
St Andrews West need not be the Western Development
Map based on
The new Structure Plan says that a large proportion of the “strategic” housing required in St Andrews must lie in the Strategic Land Allocation called “St Andrews West”. Unsurprisingly, it says that this lies to the west of the town, but it is left to the Local Plan to fix its location.
Press adverts by Joe Headon and
the University imply incorrectly that St Andrews West covers just the light
shading shown, which should be compared to the “Western Development” they
proposed in 2002. In the Local Plan St Andrews West also includes the dark
shading.
Where do you think it should be?
St Andrews West could be in the Kinness Valley
How much housing is required?
Approximate boundary
of St Andrews HMA Do not be misled by talk of 1000 houses for St Andrews West. That figure is the minimum number of “strategic” houses that the Structure Plan requires BY 2026 in St Andrews, with “a large proportion lying within St Andrews West. The Local Plan runs only UNTIL 2018. Under the required phasing, 575 of these 1000 “strategic” houses are needed in St Andrews by 2018. A similar approach implies that the Structure Plan requires an additional 600 houses by 2018 in the Housing Market Area (HMA) that covers St Andrews. Noting our overloaded infrastructure and traffic congestion, the Community Council believes at most 150 of these should be within St Andrews itself. There are many possibilities elsewhere in the HMA, including the Preservation Trust’s sensible suggestion to use fully the former mill site at Guardbridge.
Use the brownfield and suitable infill sites first
Before resorting to greenfield sites on the edge of town, the sensible strategy is to re-use previously developed (brownfield) sites in the town. Some of these are listed in the Local Plan, including the former New Park School, Memorial Hospital site and St Leonards Fields, but there may well be further possibilities, such as the old health centre. If a greenfield site is chosen for the new Madras College, there will also be the extensive site at Kilrymont. Fife Council appears to be under-estimating the potential brownfield contribution – perhaps to make “St Andrews West” appear the more necessary.
. . . and then the Kinness Valley
For the last 20 years, the merits of a contour-based approach have been broadly agreed. To maintain the landscape setting of St Andrews, it is sensible if essential development is on relatively low-lying land, with that in the Kinness Valley being the most obvious. This area is also in walking distance of Lawhead School. In the 2005 Draft Local Plan, Fife Council indicated two sites near the Craigtoun Rd, with capacity for 815 houses. In the Plan period, only a fraction of this would be needed, if brownfield capacity is fully utilised.
Affordable housing
The Community Council supports the provision of affordable housing in St Andrews to meet local need. Although the requirements of the Development Plan represent some progress, they still permit developers to build 7 top-of-the-range houses for every 3 affordable ones. In the context of St Andrews, this is still a waste of scarce housing land. The Community Council also seeks to avoid developers providing cash contributions in lieu of affordable homes. The recent suggestions from a developer that affordable housing would be disruptive of social harmony are not acceptable. We wish to promote mixed and integrated communities.