Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
New school ‘must be part of town masterplan’
A NEW Madras College at Langlands would need to form part of a masterplan for the western expansion of St Andrews, it has been revealed.
The layout of the school, including access arrangements off the A91, would be considered as part of the plan.
Education chiefs believe the site is better placed to provide a new Madras College than any other area of the town, although three other pieces of land are still being considered and detailed assessments will be carried out.
Shelagh McLean, Fife Council’s interim head of education, said the university-owned Langlands site could offer educational benefits over and above a new school anywhere else.
The local authority hopes to buy the land and is in the final stages of negotiations with St Andrews University.
That could bring to an end to decades of wrangling over a suitable site for the secondary school.
In a report to go before the council’s executive committee tomorrow, Ms McLean said Langlands was not owned by the local authority but acquisition in principle had been agreed with the university.
“The site forms part of the Strategic Development Area and any layout for the school would need to be considered when the masterplan is prepared by the university and its consortia partners,” she said.
“Provided the proposed new school could be satisfactorily accommodated within, and be compatible with, the required masterplan for the area, then there does not appear to be any substantive issues with regard to availability, affordability, feasibility or deliverability identified at this stage.”