Flax Mill: Val McDermid hails work to turn Fife mill into unique community hub

The Kirkcaldy born author was the special guest of Silverburn Park in Leven where Fife Employment Access Trust (FEAT) has been working with Fife Council in a major regeneration project to create a unique community space in the B-listed building.

Their efforts will eventually lead to a visitor centre and community hub offering jobs, training, space for retail and creativity, alongside a hostel for visitors coming to the area on the new Levenmouth Rail Link and via the Fife Coastal Path.

Val said: “It’s great to see work starting on the flax mill project and I can’t wait to see the finished result. I’ve got very happy memories of this area and it’s a very exciting time for Levenmouth at the moment. The extension of the railway is going to make a terrific difference – it will open up this whole area to let people see what they’ve been missing, and I think there’s a lot here that people have been missing.”

Also attending the short tour were Dougie Saunders, who chairs FEAT Trading CIC, and Stewart Ferguson site manager from Clark Contracts, and a number of guests from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Fife Council, Levenmouth Reconnected Programme.

Mr Saunders said: “This really is a milestone moment after so many years of planning, preparation and fundraising and everyone connected with the project is looking forward the day we can re-open the doors of the mill to the general public.

“It has been an incredible team effort to get to this stage, though there is still a massive amount of work and forward planning to do.”

The flax mill redevelopment will take over two years to complete and FEAT is optimistic the new facility will be open during early 2026. The park’s camping and glamping site will remain open along with the Cottage Window Café.

Mr Saunders added: “The café will hopefully do particularly well in the coming two years with so many construction staff on site needing fed and watered!”