FIFE’S CONTROVERSIAL structure plan—which has major implications for Cupar— will “at the very least” be reviewed in the wake of the closely-contested election which saw the Labour party in Fife gain a slender one-seat advantage.

The newly elected independent councillor for Cupar and its surrounding villages, Bryan Poole, said yesterday Labour had given a manifesto commitment on the issue, and Liberal Democrats are also unhappy about proposals.

Mr Poole, who has been elected after a spell as chairman of Cupar Community Council, said Labour made specific reference to the 1400 houses proposed for the north of the town alongside a new bypass.

“I would expect the structure plan as it affects Cupar to be revised,” he said.

“In more general terms my interpretation of the results in Fife is that none of the political parties has the confidence of the electorate to form an administration and it is time for councillors to put local people, local communities and Fife before the ambitions of political parties and individual councillors.

“To that end, and in an effort to send a message to the electorate that they come before party interests, the parties should look to someone belonging to none of the major parties to act as the new provost of Fife.”

He said Councillor William Clarke is one of the area’s longest-serving councillors and is respected and liked.

“Being parochial for a second, Councillor Clarke also spoke and voted against the structure plan so he is well-placed to act as the figurehead for the new council and a new kind of politics,” Mr Poole continued.

In the run-up to last week’s elections Labour’s Fife policy co-ordinator Alex Rowley, who has been re-elected to the council, said a new Labour administration would re-examine the structure plan.

He said the administration would be seeking legal advice, and talking to senior council management, about how to have “comprehensive review.”

Mr Rowley also said proposals would be brought forward in the first two months of a new administration to take into account the new Planning Act, city regions and a desire to use growth as a lever for economic and social regeneration across Fife.

Others issues include co-operation on a new Forth crossing, Rosyth as a transport hub, eastern access to Dunfermline, replacing the A92 Redhouse roundabout with an interchange and the viability of a new Leven rail link.