Former Argos store in Fife earmarked as new student accommodation by developer

The building at Ferguson Square in Cupar has been empty since 2020, and was earmarked as a possible location for a Cupar Food Station.

Now, Isle Of Man based Peak Holdings Limited has submitted an application to Fife Council for a change of use, and revealed more detail about its plans.

It wants to convert the existing building into a student accommodation complex consisting of 60 bedrooms grouped into 12 flats. Each would have a bed space, study desk, seating area and toilet / shower, while the flats would have a kitchen, dining, social and sitting space.

The move aims to tackle the accommodation ‘crisis’ facing students studying in Cupar and St Andrews.

A planning statement said: “The principal demand for student accommodation in Cupar comes from St Andrews University, which in addition to its main campus in St Andrews, has Eden Campus at Guardbridge.

“Demand for student housing in St Andrews is so acute that accommodation was arranged in Dundee, and in addition students have had to look for private bed-sits in the city. Dundee already has a shortage of student accommodation serving its own universities and colleges.

“Many St Andrews students already look to Cupar for private accommodation, which is described as offering a more affordable and / or quieter alternative to living in the centre of St Andrews. There is a very good bus service between the towns and specialised student bus passes are available for commuting.”

Previous plans by Cupar Development Trust to establish a food station in the building have come to an end, and the body is now looking at a different property.

One of the issues it faced was that the Ferguson Square building came with a convenant imposed during its sale that prohibited food retail use, and it also needed to raise the level of the lower ground floor to protect users from flooding.

Peak Holdings’ statement said the new proposals “will enable return of the building to a productive use with no impact on its historic character” and will not require demolition or significant alteration.

It added: “Future commercial retail use of the building is most unlikely due to changing retail habits such as on-line ordering and edge-of-town malls. In addition, any food retail use of this building is prohibited by the restrictive covenant imposed by the former owner. That previous owner still trades elsewhere in the town and is likely to resist any attempt to have the covenant lifted.” Councillors will consider the application in due course.

A University spokesperson said: “The proposed development isn’t connected to the University in any way, and while we monitor housing trends carefully, there is currently no accommodation crisis in St Andrews, we have accommodated all students looking for housing in St Andrews and have not housed any students in Dundee.”