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PRESS
2000
PRESS
RELEASE
9 October 2000
TRUST
TO START WORK ON COASTAL DEFENCES
The world
famous golf courses at St Andrews are soon to be better protected
from the effects of coastal erosion as the installation of permanent
defences can now get under way. Planning permission from Fife Council
has been granted to the St Andrews Links Trust, the charitable organisation
which manages the courses, to start work immediately along the Eden
Estuary which borders the north-west side of the Links.
"We
have worked long and hard in order to reach a long-term and effective
solution which is satisfactory to everyone concerned," said
Alan McGregor, general manager of St Andrews Links Trust. "It
is a great relief that planning permission has been granted and
we can now install these essential defences before the winter sets
in."
Of the six
courses on the Links, the most vulnerable is the 103-year-old Jubilee
Course as the 8th hole is now only yards away from the high tide
level, following severe erosion of the dunes during storms last
winter.
The defences
to be put in place are a combination of 'hard' and 'soft' options.
The hard option refers to the stone-filled wire structures or gabions,
which will now be installed along the 100 metre stretch of unprotected
dunes. These will be sloping rather than the vertical type already
in place further along the estuary. The 'soft' option involves replenishing
the dunes with 12,000 cubic metres of sand.
The dunes
between the estuary and the golf courses are environmentally sensitive
and a designated SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). The
Trust consulted closely with Scottish Natural Heritage, Fife Council
Ranger Service and the Roads Department, the RSPB, the Sea Mammal
Research Institute, Scottish Environment Protection Agency and HR
Wallingford (engineers) to come up with a defence plan that will
be effective in protecting both the dunes and the links. It also
commissioned an environmental statement from St Andrews University,
which supported the protection plan.
The Trust
spent around £100,000 last year on maintenance of the existing
gabions and these new defences will cost in the region of £200,000.
"St Andrews Links is a unique site of historical and cultural
significance as well as one of the top sporting venues in the Britain.
The Trust's prime responsibility is to protect the Links and putting
effective defences in place is a matter of urgency," said Mr
McGregor.
Ends
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