Street in Fife town named after SNP founder

A prolific author who was a founder of the SNP is to have a street named after her in Fife.

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.

£100k fundraiser launched to help four-year-old Fife boy get ‘life...

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.

Thank you for reading this story on our website. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, we are asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspapers - the Fife Free Press, Fife Herald, St Andrews Citizen and East Fife Mail.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the highest standards in the world. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper. Thank you.