Fife councillors have poured cold water on plans to open two coffee shacks on the former site of a medieval priory in St Andrews.
Members of the north east planning committee said the proposal for Greyfriars Gardens was “entirely inappropriate” in the heart of the town’s conservation area.
Mary, Queen of Scots gifted the land to the town in the late 1500s.
And planning permission is already in place for a poetry garden to celebrate the site’s historic connection to the tragic queen.
Councillors said the proposal for two timber-clad shipping containers would neither preserve nor enhance the spot.
And they refused the application by nine votes to four.
St Andrews coffee shack on site of ancient graves
Landowners, Isle of Man-based finance company Optimus Fiduciaries, wanted to sell hot drinks and snacks such as sandwiches and baguettes.
The plan included seating for 12 people, gravel paths, bins and recycling.
Planning officer Alastair Hamilton said there had been various archaeological finds on the site, the most recent being a number of ancient graves.
However, he said the garden was now overgrown and uncared for.
And he described the St Andrews coffee shacks as “relatively unobtrusive”.
However, councillors were not convinced.
SNP member David McDiarmid said: “This is a piece of land gifted to the community by Mary, Queen of Scots.
“It’s a former monastery graveyard in a conservation area and Fife Council planners have recommended approval of two shipping containers?”
And Liberal Democrat councillor Jane Ann Liston insisted the proposal “could not be more inappropriate”.
“It’s slap bang on top of the chapel for the Grey Friary,” she said.
Plan for world-class poetry garden
A group, known as Poet’s Neuk, has already secured planning permission for the poetry garden on the site.
It wants to create a world-class, immersive experience including poetry about, and by, the 16th century queen.
However, while consent and funding are in place the landowner does not want to sell the ground.
David Middleton, secretary of Poet’s Neuk, said: “The result has been that the garden has remained a derelict site subject to antisocial behaviour.”
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