Millionaire's luxury house renovation in St Andrews 'forces' pensioner neighbour to leave his home after building work 'turned area into an earthquake zone'

Published: 00:23, 22 April 2026 | Updated: 00:29, 22 April 2026 A millionaire's home renovation has been accused of forcing his pensioner neighbour out of his council flat after building work made it feel 'like living in an earthquake zone'.  Businessman Martin Lightbody is renovating a cottage near the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, into a luxury three-storey home.  He first submitted a planning application to turn the site into two new houses, with an  underground garage and a gym, but saw his 'overly contemporary' vision rebuffed by Fife Council.  Eventually Mr Lightbody - who owns Glasgow-based food, health and wellness company Lightbody Ventures - was handed approval, with works beginning on the plush property 19 months ago.  However neighbours claim they have been left 'living in an earthquake zone' ever since - and one furious pensioner says he felt forced to uproot from his council flat next door.  Chris Main, 70, has forked out thousands from his retirement fund to secure a new property in Cupar, a small town some 10 miles away, after 'losing his home to a millionaire who wants to make a packet'. He said: 'I've been here eight and a half years as a sheltered tenant. I'm basically being socially cleansed from the town which my family have had associations with for generations.  'I'm at the point where the scaffolding is going up and it's been like living in an earthquake zone. A millionaire's house renovation (left) is accused of forcing his pensioner neighbour to leave his council home (right) after construction work made it feel like 'living in an earthquake zone' A resident complained that vibrations from the machinery had made his flat 'uninhabitable' Chris Main, 70, has forked out thousands from his retirement fund to move out of his council-owned flat Businessman Martin Lightbody first submitted plans to renovate the cottage some five years ago, but works only began in late 2024 'We've had 19 months of this development and we've still probably got another 18 months to go. When you're 70, losing three years of your life to a development is quite a serious issue.' Mr Main was unable to purchase another property in the town where he's lived for almost nine years amid skyrocketing house prices.  Figures show homes near the Old Course are regularly purchased for seven-figure sums. The average cost of a property in the town, meanwhile, reaches £500,000.  Works on the luxury abode neighbouring Mr Main's council flat are set to continue this month with the construction of a communal courtyard.  But Mr Main has accused Fife Council of 'pandering to millionaires' in St Andrews, which is home to Scotland's most expensive street.   'We're five council-sheltered tenants right on the corner on the cliffs, overlooking the sea,' he said. 'There was an old doctor's house next door, and in 2021 it was bought by the millionaire Martin Lightbody. 'It went before councillors, and they knocked it back, but then a year later, he put in another application for one house and one underground facility and that just went through. 'That happens when you get six or less objections - and we couldn't get the right number because some of our tenants had passed away or been taken to care homes. Mr Main said he spent five years warning Fife Council about the discomfort renovations could cause - but to no avail The pensioner's window looks directly out onto the courtyard on which works are taking place Works on the site are not near finished - with construction on a communal courtyard slated to begin this month He is accusing the local authority of 'pandering to millionaires' over the plans they have approved 'Fife Council have shown no consideration to us whatsoever and have totally supported the millionaire - and that includes letting them put their building site on our side of the development. 'They're going to demolish our drying area, our bin area, and they're going to be operating in our communal courtyard - inches away from my main living space.' He claims that the local authority has let down the tenants living in his building. 'Fife Council have for two years completely ignored my requests to move or decant, then belatedly reacted,' he said. 'They haven't helped at all, even though they know that the reason why I'm moving is this multi-millionaire who's pushing us aside, and that doesn't seem fair. 'We're in sheltered accommodation where there's supposed to be a duty of care towards us, and they've shown us no consideration whatsoever.' Of his decision to move, the devastated pensioner added: 'I've moved a lot in my life, and I thought this would be the flat I would be in until I either died or went into care. 'It's taken away all the financial planning around my pension - I've lost around £75,000 being forced to do this, and I'm feeling numb and shocked. 'Now there are 12 other tenants who are going to be faced with this now, so the clock is ticking on them as well.'  Fife Council planning service manager Alastair Hamilton said: 'We understand that construction work can be disruptive for people living nearby. 'And we appreciate that noise and disturbance can be frustrating.' 'We work closely with public protection colleagues to ensure impacts on neighbours are kept to the lowest level reasonably possible. 'Any concerns raised by neighbours are taken seriously, and residents are encouraged to contact our enforcement team, who will look into issues and take appropriate action if breaches are identified.' House prices in St Andrews, particularly overlooking the iconic Old Course, have sky-rocketed in recent years And prices are only going to continue to soar, according to residents, following The Open in July  Martin Lightbody was contacted for comment by the Daily Mail. Mr Main's plight comes after a recent report revealed house prices have boomed into the millions in St Andrews. Figures show flats overlooking and near to The Old Course, which hosts The Open, sell for as much as £7million each.   On The Scores, a famous street that runs from the edge of the Old Course up to the ruins of St Andrews Castle, there have been 15 properties that have changed hands for seven-figure sums in recent years. Six further seven-figure house sales have gone through at the nearby Gibson Place and The Links, with £5 million-plus deals also recorded in other desirable streets such as Pilmour Links, Golf Place and Gillespie Terrace. On Golf Place, one two-bedroom apartment even sold in June of 2023 for a whopping £2,010,000. With The Open set to begin in mid-July, one local predicted that house prices could hike further if Rory McIlroy is victorious.   They added: 'Golf gets bigger and bigger and the money in the game and some of its fans now is huge. 'People pay silly money to live near here and the game has been given an even bigger boost with Rory's Masters success. 'It's going to create even more interest in playing and wanting to live somewhere like this.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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