Rare land release in golfing haven

A RARE plot of land in the golf haven of St Andrews has been put on the market by a Scottish housing developer.

The 2.8-acre site is thought to be the largest zoned for residential development to have gone on sale in the town in the past five years.

Elgin-based Robertson Homes, which has been working on the site for more than nine years, gained consent from Fife Council for 13 homes and a block of flats in 2010.

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The sale consists of about half of a larger block, which was formerly playing fields and boarding houses for St Leonard’s School.

Robertson will retain the rest of the six-acre site, which is earmarked for the development of a hotel and offices. The developer’s luxury-homes development arm, Knightsbridge, billed the master plan for the site as a £70 million regeneration scheme.

It is thought that Roberston will use the funds from the sale to invest in its developments plans. The house builder swung back into the black last year after suffering two years of losses in the downturn and it is set to renegotiate its £35.5m net debt with its lenders in 2013.

The agents for the site did not disclose an asking price.

Jason Hogg, development director at Jones Lang Lasalle, said: “The property is unique so we are keen for the market to take a view.”

John Murphy, the house builder’s managing director, said the plot for sale was in a “prime position”. He added: “This land offers developers and investors a very rare opportunity for residential development within the heart of St Andrews. With full planning consent for more than 40 homes and a market that is delivering above-average house price growth, the site is an attractive prospect.”

Elliot Robertson – the chief executive of joint-selling agency Applecrest Real Estate and a former chief executive of Robertson Homes – said investors would benefit from the “growth associated with residential developments in close proximity to world-class golf courses”.