Shocked parents who have been campaigning for a new Madras College to be built at Pipeland have accused those behind a new legal challenge of being “selfish and elitist”.
It came as a St Andrews councillor described the move towards a judicial review as “outrageous” and challenged the proponents to reconsider.
Three former Madras College teachers have lodged a legal challenge against Fife Council’s granting of planning permission for a new £40 million single site school at Pipeland.
The objections come from former Madras rector Lindsay Matheson, Mary Jack and Sandra Thomson named as directors in a newly-formed company, the St Andrews Environmental Protection Association Limited.
Fife Council received intimation of a challenge by way of judicial review to the Pipeland decision in a letter from lawyers in Edinburgh.
Pro-Pipeland campaigners fear the challenge could delay construction of a much needed new secondary school for years.For more on this story see Saturday’s Fife edition of The CourierBut legal challengers are determined to protect the landscape setting of St Andrews.
Pro-Pipeland campaign group Parent Voice condemned the launching of a legal challenge in the “strongest terms”.
Spokesman Chris Wallard said: “We deplore the idea that a selfish and privileged few should try to use legal threats and phony companies to buy their way out of democratic decisions they don’t like. These elitist attitudes belong to a different century.
“Pipeland has received overwhelming popular support time and time again. It has been scrutinised by the most rigorous and drawn out planning consultation in living memory this decision was even reviewed by the Scottish Government. This robust process has reached a clear outcome.
“Launching a judicial view is, quite simply, a disgraceful attempt to use money and privilege to try to purchase an outcome in what should be a democratic process.
“All the evidence suggests that it will fail. In the last 10 years, only 7% of planning challenges brought by private individuals have succeeded in Scotland, and the construction of a public building has never been successfully challenged.”
Fife Council’s executive spokesman for education Bryan Poole said: “We are of course disappointed with this development but at this stage we want to reassure parents and children in the Madras College catchment area and our staff at Madras College that we are continuing with the preparatory work with this development.
“In short this means that a detailed planning application will be submitted relatively soon and is scheduled to be considered by the North East Fife Planning Committee in September.
“This has been our intention for some time and there is no reason to deviate from that.
“Fife Council is of the view that it is in everybody’s interest but particularly in the interest of the children that the judicial review will be heard and resolved at the earliest possible date.”
Efforts by The Courier to contact Mr Matheson and the other directors for comment were unsuccessful.