Landowner claims forced sale of plot 'unlawful'

Poet's Neuk want to convert the site in St Andrews into a public garden

A landowner has argued a Scottish government decision forcing it to sell a patch of overgrown ground in Fife to a community group was unlawful.

Lawyers for Forthtay Ltd accused ministers of "apparent bias" towards Poet's Neuk over the sale of the site in the town's conservation area.

Ministers said the sale to the group under land reform legislation was in accordance with the law. Poet's Neuk plans to turn the plot in to a public garden dedicated to Mary Queen of Scots

Sheriff Niven Smith heard arguments in the case, the first of its kind in Scotland, at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Poet's Neuk was awarded the right to buy the land, at the corner of Greyfriars Garden and St Mary's Place, by Scottish ministers in 2018.

In their decision, they cited provisions brought in to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 in 2020 which states that land can be bought by a community organisation via compulsory purchase if it is likely to further "sustainable development" and is in the "public interest"."

That was granted in 2023, with ministers arguing the transfer would "promote social sustainability by creating a place where members of the local community can meet and interact".

It is the first time the legislation has been used to force a community buyout of land.

The patch of ground is in the St Andrews conservation area but has been overgrown and has issues with anti-social behaviour

But Kenneth Young, acting for Forthtay, based in the Isle of Man, said that decision was "seriously flawed".

He said, in reaching it, the "benefit of the doubt" had been given to the group over the landowner at every stage.

He pointed to a number of rejected planning applications for the site.

Fife Council turned down a proposal for a coffee kiosk inside a converted horsebox on the plot last year.

Mr Young said it was equivalent to the landowner "starting a goal down or with 10 men" when up against the Poet's Neuk application.

Council planners previously approved the group's application to transform the site into a garden, complete with a statue of Queen Mary.

Poet's Neuk maintain the land was gifted to the town by Queen Mary prior to her abdication in 1567.

The group claims the land has been neglected and allowed to become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and drug taking.

The Scottish government's lawyer, Juliet McKinlay KC, said ministers had to consider "the reality of what was happening on the site".

She said ministers had acted lawfully and the decision was based on whether the transfer was "likely to further the achievement of sustainable development".

Sheriff Niven will make a written judgement in the near future.