St Andrews hotel in bid to turn private garden ground into seated area rejected

Owners of the Kinnettles Hotel had hoped to see their planning application for land across the road from the main hotel building in North Street approved by the north east Fife planning committee on Wednesday.

Committee members, however, turned the plans down, suggesting the development would have an unacceptable impact on the town’s conservation area.

The proposals aimed to see the site on the corner of North Street and Greyfriars Garden turned into recreational space, with a converted former horsebox being used to serve coffees and snacks to guests of the hotel and non-residents.

Council planners recommended approval saying the proposal was “compatible” with the area and had been “designed, scaled and finished” to respect the area’s architectural and built heritage character.

But councillors voted unanimously in favour of a motion to throw the plans out after 22 letters of objections were received.

Conservative councillor Tony Miklinski said: “I need an explanation of how plonking an old horse box into an area of green space and turning an area of green space into a food court is compatible with the area in terms of land use and has been designed, scaled and finished in such a way to respect the architectural and built heritage character of the area.”

St Andrews Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Ann Liston said the development would be “completely out of keeping” with the area.

“If you look at old postcards of St Andrews, there is one where you can see the ruins of the cathedral and there’s a house right next to it,” she commented.

“You think ‘what on earth is that doing there?’.

“I don’t know who gave it permission but it’s in completely the wrong place, and I feel very much the same about this proposal.”

St Andrews Preservation Trust said the development would, if allowed, set a precedent for more deleterious applications in the future,” a spokesperson said.

Councillors refused the application because of the loss of green space, and the impact on the conservation area and residential amenity.

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