Spatial planning in St Andrews

It is for those reasons some fast food chains are denied presence in town and there is only one collection point for recycling. Strict rules may have their benefits and drawbacks, but their main impact is the following one: whenever someone in St Andrews does get a planning permission, it usually posits a major occasion that resonates throughout the constituency.

Lately there are many such occasions. The university has managed to begin numerous ambitious projects, among them a new hall of residence, a new concert hall, extensions of the school of international relations and the university museum. The museum is, after a year-long break, set to open again in April - considerably bigger, more colourful, and with approximately 115 000 exhibits.

Even though the mentioned buildings will undeniably improve the atmosphere and life in town, my main interest is the project which, for unknown reasons, had not come to fruition. In 2013, the university received permission from the local council to build six wind turbines at a nearby farm site named Kenly. These turbines would be connected directly to university buildings and would lead to carbon neutrality, energetic self-sufficiency, and create hundreds of jobs in the area. Despite all of these advantages the British Ministry of Defence has opposed the project and refuses to communicate with the university.

With Amnesty International St Andrews we have started a campaign in support of Kenly, where we are trying to start a dialogue with the ministry and convince them of the merit of the whole project. We are writing letters and petitions - our allies include students, local politicians, and the university, but we know that attempts at a sustainable future can take long.

Apart from Amnesty I continue to spend my time dancing or working in the library; this semester I study creative writing and Iranian culture from 600 B.C to 1700 A.D. Subconsciously I am pondering how I should spend my summer and whether I should write a dissertation next year (it is not compulsory). Just like the town I live in, I need to give all decisions enough time.