The St Andrews - Loches Alliance is a charitable organisation formed in 1997 with the backing of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council which resulted in a public meeting to discuss the possibility of starting an exchange programme with the town of Loches. Loches had been seeking to twin with a mediaeval town in Scotland and through the Franco-Scottish Society, St Andrews was proposed. St Andrews in the past had always resisted a formal "Twinning," but the idea of pursuing an Alliance with this particular mediaeval town in France was accepted and it was agreed to consider ways in which links could be advanced and to invite a delegation from Loches to view the town and share in our St Andrews Day activities. The Loches delegation arrived in St Andrews in November 1996. They gave an impressive audio-visual presentation of Loches, showing this delightful town Loches of around 7000 inhabitants town south of Tours with strong similarities as St Andrews, dominated as is St Andrews, by great historical buildings such as the Chateau, the Collegiale Church of St Ours and the Porte Royale. Its inhabitants are intensely proud of this great historical heritage which like St Andrews attracts considerable tourist activity.
The following year a delegation representing a wide cross section of life in St Andrews headed by Mary Freeborn, were invited to Loches with the objective of establishing long term and fruitful cultural links. Schools were visited and contacts made. It was evident from the response from both towns that there was genuine interest and determination to establish links between the two towns.
A Trust was formed, with established charitable status and our aim, as spelt out in the Constitution is to establish, develop, and by raising funds, afford opportunities to support educational, cultural and sporting links between the Royal Burgh of St Andrews and the town of Loches-en-Touraine in France. Following almost 20 years of many exchanges, the towns were officially twinned during ceremonies in St Andrews (November 2015) and in Loches (March 2016).
The St Andrews-Loches Alliance is open to everyone within the St Andrews area and is non-political. It is run by a committee made up of representatives of the major organisations of the town, the University, the Community Council, the Merchants Association, schools and the Franco-Scottish Society, providing a real cross section of the community. In Loches the organisation is called "La Nouvelle Alliance - Loches St Andrews" and run by a committee largely made up of Municipal Councillors.
