Call to restart community council

A meeting will take place on December 12, between 8-9pm, at the community centre, with the aim of restarting Buckhaven Community Council.

The plan is the brainchild of Councillor Ryan Smart, who said it is important that people in the area have a voice.

“With Buckhaven being one of the most deprived areas of Fife, it is important to make sure local people have a voice,” he said. “And while they do have a voice through their elected representative, it is important to have a voice of their own.

“When I was campaigning to be elected, and since I’ve been elected, a lot of people have said they would like to see the community council come back.

“There’s a lot of people in Buckhaven who don’t feel that they have a voice. I’d like to see them getting involved with the community council.”

Cllr Smart said that the council would give locals the chance to share their views on a number of issues, including public events.

“If you go back 10, 15 years, there was a lot going on in Buckhaven,” he explained. “We had the bonfire, galas – it’s about bringing events like these back.”

Cllr Smart said that, for the first year, he would like to see the group focus on bringing back the bonfire and working on the gala, and in the future could work on getting Christmas lights.

He added: “The community council can people a say on housing developments and planning applications.”

Buckhaven has various groups working in the area – often volunteers giving up their time to help others – including CLEAR and the Buckhaven Implementation Group.

However, this week Buckhaven Beehive announced it would be selling its premises, Free Gardener’s Hall, having been unable to secure funding for much-need restorations.

Speaking about the closure, Cllr Smart said: “Hopefully the community council can help other groups to stop things like that happening. We all want the best for Buckhaven. This could build on what all the groups are doing.”

If the return of Buckhaven Community Council is successful, the plan could be replicated in other parts of Levenmouth, with Cllr Smart saying: “If it’s a success I would like to roll it out in Methil and Methilhill.”