Update- The Challenge will be heard in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, 19-21 Jan. 2010
The Local Plan SEA says that in St Andrews and East Fife ‘the total urbanised land area could increase by 15%’.
Between one-sixth and one-seventh of our landscape could disappear under housing and roads-disastrous for residents, and for tourism. My case, against Scottish Ministers and Fife Council, is likely to be heard in the Court of Session in January 2010. The grounds of the challenge are that St Andrews and its outstanding landscape setting cannot absorb over 1,000 houses. This is the only way in which plans for 35,200 houses in Fife-(initially 1,090 in St Andrews with a distributor road, business and science parks, and a probable 28% increase in the built area of the town, plus 1,400 houses in Cupar and a bypass) can be opposed.
The response to my appeal for donations and pledges has been amazing, now totalling £37,610, but the costs could be up to £60,00 if I lose. Now that the scale of the proposals for St Andrews have been made clear through exhibitions and articles, I hope that anyone else who wishes to oppose the hugely destructive development in ‘the most important small historic burgh in Scotland’ (Historic Scotland) will pledge support. If I win, officials say the Structure Plan will return to the Council. The future of the Local Plan, which has to conform to the Structure Plan, could be in doubt.
Since 2005 objections have been ignored by Fife Council and Ministers-including those from Scottish National Heritage, saying that Green Belt boundaries should be set before the housing requirement. Residents and environmental bodies are being overridden, with little evidence that the dire economic situation has been ‘taken into account’. The impact on St Andrews and its infrastructure of over 1,000 houses (and a possible 2,000 cars) would be huge. ‘Critical views’ would be obliterated, and urban sprawl would seriously diminish the town’s ‘national and international importance’, acknowledged in the Structure and Local Plans. The visitor numbers have dropped by 12% since 2003. Those who are responsible for the proposed development are taking great risks with the future of the town which has been here for 800 years.
The Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, St Andrews Preservation Trust and Protection Rural East Fife (PREF) have stated their support for my action, as has the Association for the protection for Rural Scotland, which said in a press statement:
‘St Andrews has already reached the point at which its attractive landscape setting cannot reasonably be expected to take any more development.’ ‘Another case is Cupar, which nestles fairly unobtrusively into the landscape- now threatened by proposals for major house building and a bypass.’ are particularly concerned by the scale of development proposed for St Andrews, given that 10 years ago Fife Council itself published a strategic study stating St Andrews was already at its landscape capacity.’
Recently two further legal challenges on planning issues have been lodged, against the Trump development in Aberdeenshire and the Hunterston power station in Glasgow.
Penny Uprichard 22 December 2009 To view recent press articles, please see the bottom of this web page.
If you would like to pledge or donate please see below: Structure Plan Legal Challenge- Pledge Form From: Address…………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Email and/or fax…………………………………………………………………………………. To: Mr A.B. Alston, Treasurer, The Challenge Fund c/o Littleridge, Hepburn Gardens St Andrews, Fife, Ky16 9LN I hereby undertake to contribute on demand a sum not exceeding …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. (£……………………………………………) Towards the liability for legal expenses incurred by Miss P.M. Uprichard in a legal challenge to the decision to approve the Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026. Yours faithfully, ……………………………………………………………………………………………….(Signature) Please print full NAME…………………………………………………………………………….. Signature of witness………………………………………………………………………………….. Name and address of witness………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. This undertaking relates to the liability of the applicants for expenses in a legal challenge to the decision by Scottish Ministers on the 24th May 2009 to approve the Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026. A payment to account may be requested before liability is determined, but once a final accounting has been done, the contribution will be in the proportion to the final liability relating to the total contributions paid or guaranteed. For example, if pledges totalling £100,000 are made, and final liability is £75,000, each contributor would be asked to contribute 75% of their pledges. Full accounts will be made available to all contributors.
The following are recent press articles- http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2009/07/04/newsstory13404616t0.asp
The Courier, 11/11/09- A BODY that describes itself as "Scotland's countryside champion" has backed a St Andrews resident who has challenged Fife Council's new structure plan in the Court of Session.
The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) has said it supports a legal move that, if successful, could halt the structure plan in its tracks.
The APRS spoke as Miss Penny Uprichard said she had almost £37,500 pledged to help cover legal expenses for her appeal against Scottish ministers' approving the Fife plan. Her action, prompted mainly by her concern over plans for St Andrews, involves a section of the Town and Country Planning Acts, 1997.
Her legal papers claim Scottish ministers failed to give a proper, adequate and intelligible reason for not modifying the finalised structure plan in line with objections received. If successful, it could see the document being sent back to Fife Council.
Her legalchallenge states the landscape of St Andrews cannot absorb over 1000 houses, and 10 years ago the St Andrews strategic study said the town was at its landscape capacity.
APRS director John Mayhew yesterday said the group shared the concerns expressed by many communities in Fife over the excessive scale of the structure plan's proposals for housebuilding and other development across Fife.
The APRS had objected to the plan at an earlier stage. Mr Mayhew said that in St Andrews there were proposals for over 1000 houses, a distributor road, 44 acres of business and science parks and a share of up to 1000 further houses in the surrounding area.
"St Andrews has already reached the point at which its attractive landscape setting cannot reasonably be expected to take any more development, " he said.
"Another case is Cupar, which nestles fairly unobtrusively into the landscape-now threatened by proposals for major house building and a bypass."
He said too much development is proposed for much of Fife. "We are particularly concerned by the scale of development proposed for St Andrews, given that 10 years ago Fife Council itself published a strategic study stating St Andrews was already at its landscape capacity."
Fife councillors have been warned that if the challenge succeeds, it would directly impact on council policy.
The plan attracted an unprecedented number of objections, and opposition from neighbouring local authorities such as Dundee City Council.
