Agenda - October 2003
There will be a meeting of the community council at 7pm on Monday 6th October in the Burgh Chambers of the Town Hall, Queen's Gardens. There will be a short break at about 8pm during which the 200 Club draw will be made.
(Copies of Agendas and Minutes of the Community Council are held at Fife Council's Local Office, St Mary's Place and the Town Library, Church Square. Those from mid-1998 on are online at http://www.louisxiv.demon.co.uk/standrewscc/)
Sheila Black, Dennis Macdonald
Read for accuracy in matters of substance - harangue the secretary for minor errors (spelling etc) outwith the meeting.
For anyone wishing to address the meeting on a matter relevant to St Andrews. Please contact the Secretary or Chair before the meeting. Priority will be given to those who have been invited to speak or have given advance notice.
Progress report.
Mr Mark Dennis, who painted the renditions of the Arms that we currently use, to speak on an international heraldry conference which he is organising.
Appendix B - Planning minute 8/9/03.
Appendix I - objection to Petheram Bridge Car Park Extension.
Do we have any general queries for Roy Stewart (Environment Service) to answer when he speaks to us next month?
Do we wish a walkabout to look at problem areas beforehand?
Reminder: You still have time to book for the 1st November session in Cupar if you are not already booked for 9 October in the Byre.
Locality Assistant Rachel Hay wonders if we can help with this, scheduled for the start of St Andrews Week. In Cupar the Community Council did so for the very successful Farmers Markets there by paying for, or helping to pay for, the arrangements for road closure.
Will we put in money for this, up to a maximum of £200?
Can someone act as liaison with Rachel Hay on this project?
Ask our opinion on a change to their local directory. Currently Fife is split North Fife with Dundee, South Fife & Kinross with Edinburgh. They propose three separate directories, non-overlapping: Fife & Kinross, Edinburgh and Dundee.
Do we have an opinion?
Ben Clifford is a fourth year Geography student at the university. He is researching "Development and the Environment in St Andrews" and asks that we fill out a survey to give the Community Council's view on these matters. To be returned by 20 Oct.
Who can complete this?
We are invited to send representatives to one of two meetings at Cupar Police Station Tuesday 14 or Tuesday 21 October. We are asked to let them know who and when by 9 October.
Is anyone available?
The review has been delayed, but is now restarted. If there is a major change to our position of the start of the year (50:50 for:against withdrawal), we have until today 6/10/03 (!) to update our response. There will be a report to Fife Council's Policy and Resources committee in due course.
Appendix G: update from Dr Andy Kilpatrick LHCC Chairman/Project Owner.
We are asked for any corrections or updates for the map in South Street.
Appendix H.
Dumfries and Galloway NSAs; BBC Television's "Restoration" programme; Wildlife crime latest; Is this a moth or a bee; New moorland guide; Hillphones 2003; Business Award Scheme; Otter Survey; That's Bogging; The Battler of Burntisland; Orkney Hen Harriers; Cooperation on mammals; Bag it and bin it - don't flush it.
CVS Fife Conference: Effective Governance in the Voluntary Sector; ESF Capacity Building Team; Funding News; Fife Monitoring & evaluation Framework Update; Community Funding News; CVS Fife - Annual Meeting 6-8pm 28 Oct, Dunfermline Football Club; Trans-Fife Community Transport; Training for Success; Thrift Shop offer; Peer Support Network; Household Survey; Printing up a storm; Visual Impact; Fife Rape and Assault Survey; Blether Together; Money Counts Awards Ceremony; Catching up with the Crosshill Team; Community Planning.
We've received this report from the Water Customer Consultation Panels. It is also available online at www.watercustomer.org.
Write to tell us about their commitment to and investment in Scotland and Fife. Their environmental and recycling programmes are covered. They would be happy to talk to us further on their initiatives in our area.
8.1.1. Town/Gown Liaison Committee Report
8.1.2. Police Report
8.3.1. Bandstand Key we now have a key for the Bandstand's electrical power box.
8.3.2. Coastal Path Chris Broome (Ranger Service) hopes to have progress to report to us in December/January.
8.3.3. West Port Flats Appendix E: sent to Fife Council, as a result of concerns expressed by a member of the public and personal observation.
8.3.4. Local Governance Scotland Bill Appendix C: letter of comment by Ken Fraser.
8.3.5. TETRA Appendix D: sent to Development service as a result of last month's resolution.
8.3.6. MSP Query as a result of a query from a member of the public, Ted Brocklebank MSP asked about our procedures for filling casual vacancies. The text of the appropropriate section of the Fife Council Scheme for Community Councils was sent in response.
8.3.7. Phone Box Removals Appendix F: objection sent to BT and OFTEL. Fife Council has objected on similar grounds.
9.1.1. Publicity Appendix A.
9.3.1. Fife Garden Festival Ken Crichton attended to collect St Andrews' award.
Please notify Chair of AOCB items before the start of the meeting or at the break. Hint: Given that the end of the meeting is often taken in something of a rush, unless items are urgent it might be better to submit them for next meeting's New Business.
Report by Frank Riddell
15 Sep 2003. Present: Frank Riddell, Penny Uprichard
1. Town Hall Booklet. FGR to prepare the booklet from the text by Marianne Gilchrist and his own photos. (PL do you have the original text in word format?) Estimates to be obtained for printing 250 copies (or thereby). If the booklets are with the janitor in the Town Hall for distribution it would be unreasonable to charge for them.
2. Greek Towns visit. Neither of us knew what was going on with the Greek towns so no decision was made.
3. St Andrew's Day Cards. FGR to prepare 12 - 15 cards. Numbers needed to be advised by PL.
4. Christmas / Hogmanany cards. FGR to prepare 12 - 15 cards. Numbers needed to be advised by PL.
5. Newsletter.
Possible topics for inclusion with possible author.
8 Sep 2003
8 Golf Place: extension to shop - No comment.
1 Howard Place: change flat to house in multiple occupation for 5 people - No comment.
16 Wallace Street: build new house on open space - No comment.
Kinnessburn Kennedy Gardens (University ELT Dept.): (retrospective) Delete existing wooden sheds and replace by two more modern sheds - No Comment.
19 North Street: alterations and extension to dwelling house - No Comment.
Cowe's Coach works site Hepburn Gardens: Committee decided to decline an invitation to receive a presentation on a proposed flatted development.
92/94 Market Street "Monsoon" revised shop external signage: passed this one to Penny Uprichard who wrote the original objection to see if it should be maintained.
Links Trust Clubhouse: erect waste store enclosure - No comment.
Petheram Bridge Car Park: this application has now been reduced to one to extend the number of parking spaces by digging into the hillside - Object on grounds similar to last objection: integration of transport strategy into North Haugh, appearance, loss of a path, where is the nice stone to come from for the front of the gabions since the proposal does not now include removing stone from the walls of the bus station?
Bus Shelter and Cycle Racks Consultation with a view to a planning application for a bus shelter outside Inchcape House St Mary's place and the introduction of bicycle racks in the car park outside the municipal offices and also outside Woolworths. Bus shelter is OK but more information is needed on the bicycle racks. Pete Lindsay to attend meeting and amend the preceding as required.
Craigtoun meadows caravan park: Proposal to introduce 16 static caravan (chalet style) pitches - No comment.
Letter of comment by Ken Fraser
On behalf of the Royal Burgh of St. Andrews Community Council, I should like to respond to one section in this consultative document.
Part 1, Section 1(3) of the Bill specifies the number of councillors in a ward as either three or four. It is known that the degree of proportionality in a Single Transferable Vote system declines markedly as the number of councillors in a ward decreases. A ward with three councillors will not produce a proportional result. It is normally believed that at least five councillors in a ward is necessary to do so. Consequently, the Kerley Report, on which the Bill is supposedly based, specifies that a ward should have between three and five councillors.
The Royal Burgh of St. Andrews Community Council therefore regrets that the Bill did not adhere to the number of councillors specified by Kerley. It would be preferable to allow between three and five councillors in a ward. If the Executive is unwilling to make this concession to real proportionality, the Bill should at least specify that four should be the normal number of councillors in a ward, and three should be resorted to only in the most sparsely populated areas.
Resolution sent to Fife Council
At its meeting of 1st September 2003 the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council resolved, by a majority of 8 votes to 5, to call upon Fife Council to observe the "precautionary principle" in dealings concerning TETRA-related communications masts and equipment; that is, not to grant them planning permission unless and until they are shown beyond reasonable doubt to be safe.
Concerns raised with Fife Council by Pete Lindsay.
The flats at the West Port are progressing to the stage that scaffolding is being erected which covers the pavement on the West Port (east) side of Bridge Street. The pavement is blocked with scaffolding and unloading lorries. There is a handwritten sign telling pedestrians to use the other side of the road.
From the town centre this means crossing Bridge Street at the Whey Pat roundabout, with the view of Bridge Street traffic obscured by unloading lorries, on top of the normal hassle of watching the other two roads. (If I recall correctly Community Council suggested there should be crossing improvements here as part of the flats development.)
Coming uphill into town is little better as the crossing point is over the brow of the hill, so poor visibility, and of course the unloading lorries block view of what ever is coming down from the roundabout.
I've seen, yesterday and today, some pretty hair-raising manoeuvres by people with prams and pushchairs trying to negotiate the dangers here. With such help as the site workers are able to provide no one came to grief while I was watching, but...
There are at least two disabled people with powered wheelchairs / buggies who use that route into town; as there isn't an easy alternative route for them at this end of town I am very concerned as to how they will manage while that path is blocked.
Can any pressure be put on the developer to provide make a safe pedestrian way on the east side of Bridge Street, or provide safe crossing facilities to the west side and back. If not can Fife Council do something?
Objection to BT, OFTEL regarding Lamond Drive/Pipeland Walk phone box removal.
I write on behalf of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council to oppose the removal of the pay phone and box at Lamond Drive/Pipeland Road (01334477132).
[1] We are astonished that BT propose to remove this phone having earlier identified it as the alternative for another removal. To quote the most recent communication from BT:
At 1:59 pm +0100 15/7/03, sue.j.byrne@bt.com wrote:
01334 476 636 - payphone at the junction of Canongate/Largo Rd. We are maintaining our decision to remove this box on the basis that there is public payphone service 550m away at the junction of Lamond Drive and Pipeland Rd.
Not only has BT endorsed this phone but the arguments we have made previously regarding the removal of these single boxes in the residential part of St Andrews still apply:
[2] this is on a major thoroughfare (Lamond Drive) through St Andrews and likely to be reasonably well known and visible to travellers and others without an intimate knowledge of the area, unlike the identified alternative on Sandyhill Road.
[3] there are no immediate alternative payphones in the area. We do not accept the BT position that a phone box at Sandyhill Road, hundreds of metres away and out of sight, is an acceptable alternative - particularly as it now seems likely that this too will be proposed for removal soon.
[4] There is more need, overriding pure economics, for what may be termed 'social' services in telephone access in the residential hinterland of St Andrews, than there is need for the arguable over-provision of phone boxes in the centre where payphone alternatives to public call boxes are more easily accessible.
St Andrews has a considerable seasonally transient population in the students of the University. Many of them live in rented accommodation throughout the town, some doubtless in the area of the phone box in question. The return for the new academic year is only just starting, so a summer consultation means they are unlikely to have any chance to raise the issue through their representatives, despite probably being heavier users proportionately of phone boxes than permanent residents.
[5] Consultation
No single pay phones should be removed without full and proper consultation by BT.
We have previously criticised the consultation process in our March submission. We still regard the consultation process over the current proposal to be very poor.
Granted, there have been some improvement in the removal notices in the phone box since the last round, but we are not aware of any general notification to the public through the local press, which we believe to be necessary for full consultation.
However, BT has broken a specific assurance:
At 1:59 pm +0100 15/7/03, sue.j.byrne@bt.com wrote:
Our consultation policy at the time we sought feedback on the removal of these 3 public payphones was to write to the main council in the area and ask them to pass this information on to interested parties. After consultation with Oftel this has changed and any further planned removals will now involve consultation with all local and community councils for all areas.
This community council was NOT informed nor contacted in any way by BT about this new proposal.
Taken with the fact that the phone at Lamond Drive/Pipeland Road was earlier cited as an alternative to another removal, this failure leaves us very concerned that BT is not consulting in good faith.
From Dr Andy Kilpatrick LHCC Chairman/Project Owner
Development of St Andrews Community Hospital and Health Centre: Approval of Outline Business Case and next steps.
I am writing again to update you on progress with the St Andrews Community Hospital and Health Centre project.
You will recall that the Trust had previously received approval of its Outline Business Case in principle, subject to the identification of a preferred site for the proposed facility. In July, the Trust identified land at Largo Road as its preferred site and subsequently submitted an Addendum to the Outline Business Case to the Scottish Executive Health Department for approval. I am pleased to advise that the Trust has now received approval of the scheme from the Capital Investment Group of the Scottish Executive and has now been invited to progress to development of its Full Business Case.
Formal project management arrangements have already been established and, as the skills and resources are not currently available internally, the Trust is now seeking to appoint a Project Manager who will be responsible for the day to day detailed management of the project.
Discussions with Fife Council Planning Department have already started on the information that is required to take forward the Outline Planning Permission application and the Trust is working hard to meet the requirements of the Planning Department to enable an Outline Planning application to be submitted in early course.
Over the next few months, the Trust will be involving staff and stakeholders in the detailed development of the clinical plans for the new hospital and health centre.
Should you wish to discuss any aspect of this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me at the LHCC office.
Judge's comment
First impression is of a very clean town, with good colour and input by residents and guest houses in particular. I was impressed by the hands-on involvement of Councillor Bill Sangster. The bedding and permanent landscaping at Petheram Bridge is very good, nice to see it maturing over the last few years. The permanent planting throughout is of a high standard with quality parks and open spaces. Maintenance standards throughout the town are very high. Glad to see some new tree planting at the main shopping area. Good to see schools being involved in helping with the general improvements. The beach area is very clean and tidy, the staff here are doing an excellent job.
Only area I could criticise about is the Fire Station which looks very poor, perhaps a project for the future?
Well done everyone.
By Pete Lindsay for Planning Committee.
03/028444/efull Petheram Bridge Car Park
I write on behalf of the Planning Committee of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council to object to the above proposal. We object on both general and specific issues.
1) Lack of Consultation
There has been insufficient consultation with stakeholders and the community. Following our objection to the previous wider ranging proposals in 03/02452/EFULL Mr Scott Harper of Scottish Enterprise Fife spoke to full community council at its September 2003 meeting where he made it clear that these applications are part of an ongoing plan for developments in the centre of St Andrews.
It is not appropriate to limit consultation on these as yet undisclosed proposals to individual stages as they appear as planning applications, with no chance to judge the effects of the overall scheme. The implication that could be taken is that an attempt is being made to slip in something unacceptable in small steps in order to evade proper scrutiny.
In particular we have previously suggested that transport infrastructure in the Station Road/Petheram Bridge/North Haugh area should be considered as an integrated whole in the context of the upcoming Local Plan revision and development of the Area Transport Plan, and the North Haugh master plan. Before these are available an application such as this, publicly acknowledged as it is to be part of a wider plan, is premature.
2) Loss of Path from Station Car Park to North Haugh.
The proposals show the path which currently cuts across the the slope above the car park from the Station Car Park to the North Haugh will be lost in the development. Instead pedestrians travelling to or from the the North Haugh will need to walk around the perimeter path of the the car park extension: a less direct route; a far less aesthetically pleasing route, exchanging a higher vantage for a low and possibly car-filled one; and as this route will bring pedestrians into closer proximity with vehicles potentially a less safe one.
The current footpath has been in use for some years and may well meet the requirements for a right-of-way. Therefore it should not be rerouted unnecessarily and certainly not along a substantially inferior and argueably discontinuous route.
These proposals do not adequately consider the needs of pedestrians who are not car park users.
3) Slope Stabilisation Gabions
3.i) Stone facing
We note that Gabion Basket Detail (11), which document originally appeared as part of the withdrawn 03/02452/EFULL, still refers to the gabions being faced with reclaimed stone from demolition of walls at the Bus Station envisaged as part of 03/02452/EFULL. As this demolition is not part of the current plan this should have been updated. What source of facing stone will be used?
3.ii) Ground cover
The extensive planting in the current Petheram car park is very successful at hiding what would otherwise be a sterile eyesore from the view of those entering St Andrews along the A91. The visual effects of digging back into the hillside by Jacob's Ladder must be carefully modelled and a 'realistic' simulated view from the A91 should be presented to convince the Development Committee - and the public - that rock-filled wire baskets partially covered with straggling 'Irish Ivy' (Hedera Helix Hibernica) replacing a pleasing soft grassy slope will not perpetuate the sorry history of visual disasters in this area, such as the glass gasometer of the Gateway and the widely-disliked insipid green Biomolecular Science building.
4) Tree Planting
At this 'gateway' site to St Andrews careful consideration must be given to the approach view (despite the damage done by the Gateway building and BMS). There are concerns, mainly anecdotal, that people are reluctant to use the car park at present because of poor visibility, leading to security concerns. These largely unfounded fears must be balanced against the aesthetic benefits of a clearer view of the car park.
We fear that replacement of the tall bushes throughout the whole car park with trees and 1m ground cover will reveal far more of the parked vehicles. We urge that more consideration be given to the screening aspect of maintaining the tall bushes around the periphery of the car park. Again, as with 3.ii above, this needs to be judged in terms of the view from the approaches to St Andrews, and proper simulations should be provided as part of these applications.
5) New footpath
A new section of footpath is shown adjacent to the railway embankment. We fear that it may encourage people to walk along the roadway to the Station Car Park/Bus Station area, rather than climb up to the footpath along the top of the embankment. This does not seem to be a very safe option to provide, unless of course there is some further as yet undisclosed work that makes sense of such a change.
| 4/09/2003 | Transportation Services | St Andrews Cycle User Group |
| 5/09/2003 | St Andrews University | Town Gown coffee morning |
| 5/09/2003 | Community Services | Purchase of Bulbs |
| 6/09/2003 | Fife Council Arts Development | Fife Garden Festival |
| 8/09/2003 | Scenic Maps | 2004 update |
| 10/09/2003 | Law and Administration | AFZ review |
| 10/09/2003 | CVS Fife | August newsletter |
| 11/09/2003 | Ted Brocklebank MSP | CC vacancy procedures |
| 11/09/2003 | Scottish Natural Heritage | Natural Heritage magazine Summer/Autumn 03 |
| 11/09/2003 | Marine Conservation Society | Strandline Autumn 2003 Newsletter |
| 12/09/2003 | East Area Services Committee | Agenda 17/9/03 |
| 13/09/2003 | Police | Community Team Newsletter Sep 03 |
| 16/09/2003 | Community Services | Best Kept Town 2003 |
| 17/09/2003 | Scottish Civic Forum | Participation Summit – Dundee |
| 19/09/2003 | Glasdon | Litter bins [advt] |
| 19/09/2003 | Scottish Civic Forum | Board Election Papers |
| 20/09/2003 | NHS Fife | Hospital Progress |
| 21/09/2003 | Scottish Executive | Modernising Public Local Enquiries |
| 22/09/2003 | NHS Fife | Board meeting – Kirkcaldy |
| 22/09/2003 | Ben Clifford | Survey |
| 24/09/2003 | Yell | Yellow pages boundary changes |
| 25/09/2003 | Volunteer Development | Spectrum magazine |
| 26/09/2003 | Fife Health Council | Raising the Issue: NHS 24 |
| 26/09/2003 | Development Service | October Consultation posters etc |
| 27/09/2003 | Development Services | Fife Minerals Local Plan |
| 2/10/2003 | Scottish Civic Forum | Participation Summit |
| 3/10/2003 | Water Customer Consultation Panel | Principles of Charging for Water, etc |
| 4/10/2003 | Transportation Service | Area Transp. Plan leader Peter Milne to meet CC |
| 4/10/2003 | Tesco | Investing in Fife |
Circulated at the meeting
Apologies: Joe Lamb, Chris Lesurf.
8.3.8. Transportation Service wish to consult with the Community Council on a wide range of proposed initiatives as part of the St Andrews Area Transport Plan. Talking with Peter Milne (Area Transportation Plan Team Leader) this is bit more than that would fit into the normal presentation slot at the start of the monthly meetings. He would like to organise a meeting with a substantial section of community council for a presentation and discussion.
If a special meeting were arranged who would be prepared to attend, assuming date/time/location suit?
8.3.9. Housing Service also wish to consult. John Mills writes:
I am contacting you to request a meeting with the Community Council before Christmas 2003 to discuss a consultation exercise with the St. Andrews Community on the question of enhancing temporary accommodation for the homeless in the Town. The nature of the consultation will be open with no pre-judged outcome as to the form that enhanced temporary accommodation will take.
I've suggested he comes to the December meeting.
Presentation schedule
October: Loches; Mark Dennis.
November: Roy Stewart, Environmental Services; Police.
December: John Mills, Housing Service.
January: Chris Broome, Ranger Service.
February: Iain Smith MSP.
Plus anyone who turns up on the night...