St Andrews residents ‘breathe sigh of relief’ as luxury clifftop homes plans are rejected

St Andrews residents are breathing a sigh of relief after plans for two cliffside homes with an underground garage and gym were rejected.

The luxury houses on East Scores – just yards from the ancient castle and cathedral –  would have included a car lift and rooftop solarium surrounded by glass.

Described as “overtly contemporary”, the new sandstone buildings would have been finished in bronze cladding.

Horrified neighbours branded the proposal an architectural atrocity in the heart of the town’s conservation area.

And they feared months of disruption as the existing St Regulus Cottage was demolished to make way for the development.

Chris Main, whose property is just a few feet from the house, said he would have moved if it had been approved.

“I’m delighted with the outcome,” he said.

“I was expecting to lose my home and had already penned a letter to the council, saying where am I going to live now?

“There would effectively have been a huge 20ft hole in the cliffs while the basement was being dug out.

“We’re now breathing a huge sigh of relief.”

‘We don’t want to turn St Andrews into California’

Mr Main said he had no problem with the cottage owner developing his own property.

“We would never stand in the way of that,” he said.

“But this is a conservation area and the design was completely inappropriate.

“There are a few architectural atrocities in St Andrews and this would have been another one.”

Some members of Fife Council’s north east planning committee were also unimpressed with the design, with one councillor branding it a carbuncle.

SNP councillor David McDiarmid added: “We don’t want to turn St Andrews into California or parts of London.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I personally don’t find this attractive at all.

“I don’t think it’s in keeping with St Andrews.”

And fellow SNP councillor Ann Verner expressed concern about how close the houses would be to nearby retirement housing.

“I have grave concerns about building works taking place there,” she said.

Proposal for St Andrews East Scores ‘is acceptable’

Fife Council planners had recommended the application be approved.

Development manager Alistair Hamilton said the new houses would replace a modern 1970’s-style bungalow with no architectural merit.

“It’s quite a statement building but in terms of proportion and size, it does fit in with the street scheme,” he said.

And some committee members agreed.

Lib Dem councillor Donald Lothian moved to give it the green light.

“The buildings around it are all fairly modern,” he said.

“I think what’s proposed is acceptable.”

However, he was outvoted and the committee rejected the bid by eight votes to four.”

The applicant did not respond to a request for comment.