Residents’ views of golf event to be canvassed after criticism

Community councillors have appealed to villagers to share their opinions of the recent Ricoh British Women’s Open at Kingsbarns Golf Links.

Event organisers were accused of causing misery for locals as thousands of spectators descended on the area.

But Kingsbarns Community Council said these were not the views of those who attended public meetings prior to the event, and it wants to canvass opinion at its next meeting.

Before the four-day tournament, the community council voiced concern about diversion of part of Fife Coastal Path and plans to use Back Stile for access. However, agreement was reached with organiser IMG that Back Stile would not be used in such a way and that parking in the village would be for residents only.

In a letter to The Courier, the community council chairwoman Margaret Harkins and secretary Martin Dibbs said the only complaint they received was about a plane circling to film the golf.

Distancing the community council from criticism by a local councillor and resident published in The Courier at the weekend, they said: “The negotiations for the arrangements for the British Women’s Open were some of the most complex and time-consuming of any done by the community council and all parts of this were discussed and agreed at welladvertised public meetings.

“Of course, it is not always possible in any negotiation to achieve everything one wants, but given the original intentions of IMG and Fife Council, we felt significant changes were made through our intervention.”

The meeting is at 7pm on September 4 in Kingsbarns Memorial Hall.