THE OWNER of Scotland’s most complete, surviving second world war naval airfield yesterday called on Historic Scotland to reconsider its policy which says the sprawling complex of dilapidated buildings must be preserved as a scheduled ancient monument.

Former Angus and Fife pig farmer David Robertson said he was “quite happy” for at least part of the former HMS Jackdaw airfield on the eastern outskirts of Crail to be preserved as part of any commercial redevelopment.

He took the view, however, that it made “very little sense” for the 350-acre site to be preserved in its entirety when many of the buildings were rusting, falling apart or in a general state of increasingly worse disrepair (see picture right).

He accused Historic Scotland of leaving the site to “crumble like a Roman fort” and said it was blocking any future redevelopment at a time when the East Neuk was badly in need of affordable housing and tourism ventures.

Historic Scotland defended its stance, describing Crail Airfield as of “incredible international importance,” and making it clear everything possible would be done to ensure it was preserved intact.

Mr Robertson, whose concerns are shared by local councillor Peter Douglas, spoke out after a fire at the weekend destroyed two storage sheds and created another pile of rubble near the airfield’s rusted hangar, rotting torpedo sheds and windowless hospital.

Seven years ago, Mr Robertson’s son, Willie, who runs the car boot sales and Crail Raceway events from the site, was involved in an attempt to develop a housing, leisure and hotel complex and a fully operational aerodrome and air museum.

A new access road was also proposed to link the A917 Crail to St Andrews coastal route with the Balcomie Road. Concerns were expressed over an influx of 4000 cars a day although it was acknowledged jobs would be created.

The plans were aborted on the advice of Fife Council officials who suggested the scale of the proposal was too big.

Mr Robertson said yesterday he felt proposals of this type were still the best solution but that Historic Scotland heritage policy remained the biggest block.

Speaking as he gave The Courier a tour of the dilapidated site, Mr Robertson said, “I feel sorry for the people of Crail who have to live with this mess on their doorstep.

“The single brick buildings were built for 10 years and not meant to last. We’ve done our best to preserve them but we can’t spend the money. Every time there’s bad weather a roof blows off. There’s barely a window left intact in the old hospital. Walls are coming down.

“Perhaps the runway, control tower, hangars and some workshops could be turned into something useful for tourists but the rest is a joke.”

Councillor Douglas said a liaison committee had been established involving Fife Council, Historic Scotland and the owner. Discussions had been going on for 18 months and were now moving “inch by tortuous inch.” Without partial lifting of the Listing policy, however, he said there was little chance of getting anything done.

“The real bugbear is the Listing of the whole site by Historic Scotland. This makes very little sense whatsoever. There’s a lot to be said for preserving bits of it and trying to find better use for bits of it.”

Councillor Douglas said the creation of a second golf course at Crail Golfing Society had also increased traffic using the road. This might be solved, however, by the creation of a new access road from the St Andrews road through the north end of the site.

He said another advantage was that the entire site now had a single owner, making any proposals easier to deal with.

Fife Council’s development services service manager, Sandy Cook, said the council recognised Historic Scotland’s position, the historical value of the site and the buildings’ decay.

Discussions were under way involving Historic Scotland, the owner and the council to see if a way forward could be found involving “reasonable use” of the airfield while ensuring that its historical value was retained.

An attempt was being made to produce a brief but this had not yet been finalised.

A spokesman for Historic Scotland acknowledged Mr Robertson’s concerns and recognised this was a difficult case.

He emphasised, however, that Crail Airfield was the most complete, surviving second world war airfield in Scotland.

He said that, with the coastal site “unique” and the second world war “arguably the most crucial historical event in the last 1000 years,” the site as a monument was “of “incredible international importance” and ought to be preserved.

There were plans for a feasibility study, 50% of which would be paid for by Historic Scotland, which would identify how to take the matter forward.

He denied that Historic Scotland was being obstructive, however, and pointed out that Fife Council, as planning authority, also had to look at the economic implications for the area and clarify its local plan.

The spokesman said, “The quicker we find a solution to this the better but we have to take this at a measured pace.

“We don’t want future generations to look back and say we were the ones who let this historic monument be destroyed.”