Green light for new affordable housing on edge of St Andrews

New university housing for staff and post-graduate students on the edge of St Andrews has been given the goahead.

St Andrews University wants to build affordable housing for let to researchers and those on shortterm contracts.

The 61 houses and flats will be on land it owns at Grange Road.

The university says they will provide much-needed accommodation at mid-market rental prices in the town where the high cost of housing is out of reach for many.

Planning consent for the development was given by Fife Council’s north east planning committee.

A university spokesman said: “We are delighted that Fife Council has given permission for new affordable housing for our staff and post-graduate students.

“St Andrews is one of the most pressured housing areas in Scotland and this development will relieve this pressure by creating more affordable homes for early career staff and postgraduate students with families.”

The Grange development is part of a £70 million investment by the university in accommodation in the town, which includes new residences at Albany Park, expansion of halls-of-residence and refurbishment.

Properties will range in size from two to four bedrooms and occupied for between one and five years.

The demographic of residents is expected to be young adults, generally older than undergraduates, and those with young families or looking to start families.

Concern was voiced that design of the houses was bland in nature, but council planning officers said they were not deemed excessively uniform in appearance and that the design generally reflected that of the houses in the surrounding area.

St Andrews councillor Jane Ann Liston also highlighted flooding issues in the area and called for assurance that the problem would not be exacerbated by the construction of the new homes.

Planner Alex Laidler said a drainage basin was proposed to handle surface water run-off.