More than £2.7 million to be invested in a range of projects in Fife

Fife Council says more than £2.7 million is being spent on a range of projects in the Kingdom to invest in the region's communities.

The funding, coming from the Scottish Government, is being spent on the following projects:

• £600,000 to take forward improvement work in Kincardine
• £500,000 for improvements around Leven's railway and bus stations and better links to the town centre
• £438,000 on upgrading work to St Margaret’s House Dunfermline 
• £360,000 investment in Kirkcaldy town centre
• £300,000 to upgrade nine business units at Lochgelly Business Park 
• £200,000 in grant funding, available to town centre businesses for improvement works
• £200,000 to help improve community facilities at Rosyth Community Facilities alongside the new Dunfermline Athletic Football Club training facility
• £150,000 on upgrading work to Kirkcaldy's Kings Theatre 

During the last three years, the local authority has benefited from more than £8 million of Scottish Government funding to boost town centres and local economies.

Projects already completed include the site used by the former DSS building in Cowdenbeath town centre being redeveloped, the creation of an Enterprise Hub in Dunfermline town centre, new signage and cycleways in Glenrothes, and improvements to Inverkeithing and Kirkcaldy town centres. 

Gordon Mole, Fife Council's Head of Business and Employability has welcomed the funding, saying that it'll help the Kingdom "diversify and flourish" as the region continues its recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: "These schemes focus on local priorities to address issues in our town centres, focusing on what's needed and bringing improvements and change.

"Fife's centres have a lot to offer and this funding will help us diversify and flourish as we recover from the challenges of the pandemic and continue to grow our local economy.

"The funding would also encourage local trades and suppliers to bid for work related to any of the projects, keeping investment local. 

"It's important that as a council we do everything we can to encourage local businesses to take advantage of the opportunities that these investment projects bring to the area.

"Our teams will be working to make sure Fife firms benefit as much as possible."