Council Election 2017

Tay Bridgehead

With the amount of change going on across the water in Dundee, the outcome of the vote in Fife Council’s Tay Bridgehead ward could well be one to watch out for.

Madras College might be in St Andrews but, given that the catchment extends to the area, parents and pupils living in Tay Bridgehead will be keen to hear from their local candidates about their take on the long-running saga and how the project has been handled.

Recent years have also seen great changes in the role of the former RAF base at Leuchars, now of course Leuchars Station, and indeed in nearby Guardbridge, where the University of St Andrews’ Energy Centre has become a major focal point.

Both will be assets that the communities will be keen to protect and develop in respective ways.

Improving transport links, housing and policing in the area will also be among the talking points over the next fortnight, while candidates will also be keen to highlight how the much-mooted Tay Cities Deal could benefit this part of the world.

The changing nature of Dundee’s waterfront – with the V&A at the forefront of those developments – will undoubtedly have an effect on towns and villages on the other side of the Tay.

How the ward can embrace the opportunities presented by changes in the city will also be important strands to touch upon for those vying for votes.

The Liberal Democrats held the upper hand in 2012, with Tim Brett and Maggie Taylor taking two of the three council seats. But now that the latter has decided to stand down, the other parties will fancy their chances of making gains.

Leuchars Railway Station is part of the Tay Bridgehead ward.