Abbeyview Community Hub: £7.5m facility set to open in 2023

Councillors on the City of Dunfermline area committee have been given an update on plans for the new facility, which will be inclusive to all and provide one door access to a range of services and community spaces based in the heart of the neighbourhood.

The state-of-the-art community hub will bring together services currently delivered from the former Abbeyview Local Office, Abbeyview Community Centre and the Tryst Centre, with a modern, integrated new build replacing the current cluster of ageing and poor quality buildings.

Work to demolish the Tryst Centre is due to be carried out within a matter of weeks, and the final designs for the integrated community hub have been drawn up based on consultation with community groups and organisations.

Assuming there are no unforeseen issues, on site construction could start in August 2022 ahead of a September 2023 finish, and once the new facility opens in November 2023 then a contractor will be commissioned to demolish the Abbeyview Community Centre soon after.

Committee convener Councillor Helen Law welcomed the progress being made on the new hub.

“This is a really good news story,” she said.

“It’s taken us a wee while longer to get here because of the circumstances and I think we would have been here sooner if it hadn’t been for the pandemic, but we do have something that looks great on paper.

“There’s been a lot of consultation carried out, and I’m looking forward to seeing it all coming together.”

The design includes a welcoming entrance, reception and offices; a large multi-use hall which can be used for a range of activities from sporting to community functions and events such as the Diamond Disco which is currently held in the existing Community Centre; and a range of general purpose rooms, one of which will be linked with a flexible folding partition to the multi-use hall to allow larger events to take place and increase the flexibility of the facility.

There will also be several spaces dedicated to learning, including an IT suite and a training kitchen; and a large community space for a range of activities including the after school club and mother and toddler group.

Externally, there will be a dedicated secure garden and play area associated with the community space, a new hard landscaped area adjacent to the new entrance with community growing spaces and planters, and the potential for a further community growing space to the south of the building if there is demand from local groups.

Costs will continually be monitored, councillors heard, as the price tag for the facility including demolition work, ground work, fixture and fitting requirements has already risen to £7.5m – around £1m more than initially projected.

Money has been found to fill that shortfall, from the back end of a 10-year programme to replace synthetic pitches, but there remain concerns about the impact of COVID restrictions and Brexit on the price and availability of materials.