Dalgety Bay resident slams Fife Council over planning change

Land next to The Wynd and the sailing club has been used as a compound by the contractor tasked with clearing the contamination, a legacy from World War Two that the town's foreshore will finally be rid of within the next few days.

The original planning condition said the site should be reinstated to "its former profile", which neighbour David Scott said was a large natural grass area that had been there for 50 years and was inhabited by the endangered red squirrel, but now it's being turned into a car park and boat storage yard.

The former fire service chief told the Press that, due to an "omission" by Fife Council, residents only discovered the major change when remediation work started: "What has been underhandedly agreed now is absolutely shocking.

A local resident said that the change of plans at Dalgety Bay Sailing Club will impact on the endangered red squirrel. (Image: Paul Burke)"The formal planning decision is on the council's website and states that the area must go back to the way it was.

"But they've changed it, without any consultation or notification to the neighbours, and without going through the formal planning process.

"That's completely wrong."

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Mr Scott continued: "Dalgety Bay Sailing Club intend to store heavier, larger and noisier vehicles and boats on the land and use the area as a workshop and maintenance with larger vehicles and heavier power tools.

"This will increase noise, destroy our privacy, cause further harassment and deter the red squirrel population from thriving in the area."

The revised restoration scheme was approved by a council planner, who has since left the local authority, in March and provides for the retention of an area of hardstanding.

The council's planning service manager, Mary Stewart, told Mr Scott: "The decision was correctly made by Fife Council as planning authority under the powers delegated to officers.

The current view from David Scott's house at The Wynd in Dalgety Bay. (Image: David Scott)

"However, this should have been clear on the public file.

"I can only apologise for the omission of the approval email from the case file."

She said there was "nothing unusual or unauthorised about the change" and the "omission was not a deliberate attempt to hide anything".

Ms Stewart pointed out that, when the application was originally assessed in 2017, no concerns had been raised about any impact on red squirrels.

Commodore of Dalgety Bay Sailing Club, John MacKenzie, said: "Everything has gone through the planning process and the area in question has always been used for the storage of boats and an overflow car park.

The land will be used by Dalgety Bay Sailing Club for boat storage and car parking. (Image: Newsquest)"The authorities agreed that the contractor doesn't need to put a small area back to grass.

"The sailing club is a local community facility, we are very conscious of the natural environment and try to be as eco-friendly as we can.

"We do our very best to keep on good terms with our neighbours but the bigger story is that for the last two years Mr Scott has had articulated lorries, JCBs and a large radium scanner just a stone's throw from his house and hopefully very soon, with the decontamination works nearing completion, that will all be gone."

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Local councillor David Barratt said: "I can see why some residents are unhappy as this doesn't look like it's been done in a transparent way.

"They only found out second hand from the contractor that the reinstatement condition outlining what they believed was going to happen had been changed.

"It's not the fault of the sailing club in any way, they've gone through the proper channels for what they wanted to happen.

"Fife Council have ultimately come to the conclusion that they were right to agree it although I don't think they've handled it very elegantly."

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We did receive a report of wildlife concerns and officers carried out enquiries and liaised with the agencies involved, however no wildlife offences have taken place and advice has been given.”