Railway trustees hit out at refusal

Centre would have created jobs and boosted economy

The derailment of a bid to create a visitor centre to showcase two of the world’s most famous locomotives has been slammed.

Trustees of the Cameron Railway Trust have broken their silence over Fife Council’s controversial rejection of the venture at Balbuthie near Kilconquhar.

Doubts hang over the future of the locomotives Union of South Africa and The Great Marquess, which are owned by former ScotRail chairman John Cameron.

Trust spokesman Finlay Clark said: “It is extremely disconcerting that a project which requires no public funding and which would stimulate economic activity and six permanent jobs, as well as providing a free educational and research facility and tourist facilities, has been rejected.”

The group behind ambitious plans for a new dual purpose visitor centre to showcase two of the country’s most famous steam locomotives have taken aim at council planners after they turned down their blueprint.

Trustees of the Cameron Trust have expressed “great disappointment” at Fife Council’s rejection of their planning application for a new open farm and visitor centre.

It would have created six jobs at former ScotRail chairman John Cameron’s land at Balbuthie near Kilconquhar.

The trust’s vision was not only to give local groups and schools access to the farm for educational purposes but to display Mr Cameron’s historic locomotives Union of South Africa and The Great Marquess – both of which will effectively be taken out of service next year.

The local authority’s rejection of the plans as an“unacceptable” development in the countryside has raised doubt over the future of the locomotives.

Finlay Clark, a spokesman for the trustees, said the decision appears contrary to the Land Planning Policy statement recently announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to create more opportunities for primary school children to visit farms.

He said: “It is deeply regretted that Fife Council have sought to reject an application which has been painstakingly put together and submitted in the belief that a full and compliant proposal had been lodged.

“It is extremely disconcerting that a project which requires no public funding and which would stimulate economic activity and six permanent jobs, as well as providing a free educational and research facility and tourist facilities, has been rejected.”

Mr Finlay said the trustees would need to take “careful stock” but the immediate sentiment was of “deep regret and the feeling that a great opportunity for economic development, jobs, education and a showcase of industrial heritage had been potentially lost to Fife and Scotland”.

Pam Ewen, chief planning officer at Fife Council, defended the planning service’s handling of the application.

She said: “Fife Council planning service has fully considered all the aspects of this proposal.

“While we are keen to promote and encourage new investment and farm diversification projects to support the rural economy, having assessed the details of this proposal it is not considered to comply with the Planning Policy criteria relevant to such developments in the countryside.”