How Brag hopes to leave a legacy in Levenmouth

Benarty Regeneration Action Group, better known as Brag Enterprises, was set up in 1989, becoming the first community-led regeneration company in Scotland.

Last year, Brag opened its new enterprise centre, at Thomson House in Methil, marking its official arrival in Levenmouth.

While the group started in Benarty, helping regenerate the area, running local events and festivals, it has expanded and now wants to achieve the same success in Levenmouth.

It is the group behind the Levenmouth Together project, which has already organised several successful events in the area, such as the first Leven Food and Drink Festival.

It also set up a movies event in Silverburn Park and has plans in place for a 10k event later this month.

While the project has just started, with its overall aim being to help support the High Street, Brag managing director Brian Robertson-Fern said that, should the organisation leave Levenmouth in the future, it wants to leave behind Levenmouth Together as the group’s legacy.

“If at some point in the future, Brag does withdraw, we could leave behind Levenmouth Together,” he told the Mail. “At the moment it’s just a brand, it’s early days.

“We’ve got seed funding to help kick-start it and get the brand recognised and test our knowledge of putting on events. Events is just one part of it, but it engages the community.

“We’re exploring Levenmouth Together becoming its own organisation. It could become a constituted group or charity and then when Brag withdraws, we leave the legacy of that organisation and it continues to maximise the opportunities for this area.”

The aim is for the project to become self-sufficient, with the profits from events being put into a community chest. Local groups can then bid to receive some of the money.

Brag is also one of the main partners in the new Square Start project, working alongside Fife Gingerbread.

The project brings together families who would like to meet other people and join in activities that could improve their situation. The aim is for 150 families to have received support from the project by October 2020.

Brag runs a number of projects throughout Fife, mainly focused on helping get back people into work.

It is one of the leaders in the Fife Employment and Training Consortium, working with people to help them tackle the problems in their lives that stop them finding and staying in work.

“People who are unemployed have additional barriers,” said Brian. “It’s not just about helping them write a CV and apply for a job. People traditionally, especially if they are long-term unemployed, have health needs. If you are going to help them into a sustainable job, you have to help them realise what barriers they have and how they will manage those barriers.”

And Brian says that Brag has big plans for the future.

“We’re always bidding for funding for new projects,” explained Brian. “It has been recognised that this area needs additional support – both in relation to its social support and economic regeneration.”

For more information about Brag, visit www.brag.co.uk.