Street in Fife town named after SNP founder

Annie S. Swan will be honoured in the village of Star, where she lived in 1883.

Councillors at Glenrothes area committee agreed to name the new road after her as part of a new Campion Homes’ development.

Annie Swan Drive will honour the 19th century Scottish journalist, campaigner and fiction writer.

She specialised in light romantic fiction. It is understood that she wrote 'At the Gates of Eden' in 1887 while living in the Fife village.

Swan was also politically active during the First World War, as a suffragist and a founder-member and vice-president of the Scottish National Party.

Ahead of the Glenrothes area committee decision, Councillor John Beare contacted existing family members, including her grand-niece who said they would be "hounoured" to have the street named after her.

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Cllr Beare added: "The regular practice is for developers to come up with the most anodyne names possible for streets which mean nothing to nobody anywhere.

"I think this suggestion reflects the history and place of Star.

"The author is still published regularly in The People's Friend, and frankly, we have few enough streets named after women in Fife."

A report on the proposal was brought to the committee because of the potential breach of policy which advises against having street names very similar to existing ones. There are a number of existing streets in the region named 'Swan'.

However, councillors unanimously agreed to honour the writer.

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