Dates set for public meetings over major eco-wellness and leisure park in Fife

Not only has the developer announced public consultation dates, but it says a formal Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) is also around the corner. National Pride (St Ninians) Ltd, has high hopes of transforming the former coal mine site at Loch Fitty into an eco-therapy wellness and leisure park.

Tentative early plans include accommodation units, a wellness spa complex on the water of Loch Fitty, a technology park, and areas for entertainment nestled into the landscape. Early concept designs also include observation areas on the former Fife Earth Project landform structures, known locally as the ‘walnut whips’.

Now, the company is planning to bring the public in to review and comment on the proposals as part of a public consultation process. These will be held at Kingseat Community Centre on Thursday February 8 and at Kelty Community Centre on Thursday March 7 between 3:30-7:30pm.

It said: “The first public consultation will be a high-level overview of the proposed development, with the second public consultation bringing forward responses gained from the first public consultation comments.”

A planning application is expected to be made sometime in early 2024. The idea for the facility began in 2020 when the St Ninians site went up for sale. National Pride Ltd said it saw the “enormous and exciting potential of what could be achieved on the site” and eventually acquired the 976 acre site in 2021.

Since then, it has been assembling a team of professional consultants and creating drawings and plans to deliver a leisure and ecotourism destination in north west of Fife. The St Ninians Wellness website describes the former coal mine site as a “beautiful natural place to establish an eco therapy wellness and leisure park.” – more information about the consultation dates and the project are available at www.stninianswellness.com

If plans materialise, developers say that the park will provide “active health and mental relaxation with spa, exercise, craft activities and amenities.” The developer said the aim of the facility is to promote health and wellness within a sustainable ecology park, providing places for relaxation and rejuvenation, while providing local economic benefits through leisure, entertainment and tourism

National Pride and St Ninians Wellness have long made their plans and ideas public on their website, but the proposals are anticipated to make their long-anticipated debut with the planning authority by the end of the first quarter of 2024.

“Due to the scale of development, [developers are] required to undertake pre-application consultation, commencing with the submission of a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN),” a press statement explained.

“This notifies Fife Council that it will be bringing forward an application for planning permission in principle, anticipated to take place by the end of the first quarter of 2024, following a minimum 12-week period of community consultation.”

PPiP will establish the principle of development and will be supported by a masterplan, outlining how the St Ninians and Loch Fitty area will be enhanced by the facility. Prior to the application submission, developers say they will host two public consultation dates inviting local comments on the proposals.