Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Councillors are to invest £240,000 into a new project to bring new ideas to life in Kirkcaldy.

Every One Every Day Kirkcaldy was one of just two pilots held in Scotland last year, and spent three months on the town’s High Street with an open door to local residents and groups to share the ideas they’d love to see get off the ground.

That research has now led to a paper, and the funding from Kirkcaldy area committee will go towards the project’s £1.12m budget for the next three years.

Run by the Corra Fundation - which began life as Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland - EOEDK followed a hugely successful initiative in Dagenham which spawned almost 150 projects, created five new shops and got over 6000 people involved - and it continues to go from strength to strength.

Emily Wallace from the Corra Foundation was at the helm of the Kirkcaldy project

It picked Kirkcaldy for a reason - it had a big enough population, already had enough activity, with the potential for more to happen, and was keen to get involved.

The Corra Foundation moved into the former Kommander shop in the High Street for three months last year, and welcomed many visitors keen to find out more, and pitch their ideas.

Over 250 people attended, and 96% were supportive of the proposed plans. Corra’s research findings will be delivered in the form of a newspaper to each residential household in early February.

Councillors were told the three-year project would develop a series of neighbourhood ‘shops’ alongside a town centre space to support the design and implementation of local residents’ project ideas, and a free-to-access makers’ pace to support people to try new things, develop their ideas for community projects and increase participation in their neighbourhoods.

Inside the Corra Foundation's premises in the High Street

Councillor David Ross, (Kirkcaldy North, Labour): said: “I have questions how it will develop, but given position we are in, it is worth seeing what will come out of over the next three years - and not just telling people to pursue their own hobbies but that we see opportunities for social enterprise emerging from it.”

A commitment of £80,000 per year for three years will be match funded by Corra.

£240,000 for Kirkcaldy pilot project to spark new ideas for community