Innovative playpark to generate power outlined for historic Kirkcaldy church grounds

People have been marvelling at and worshipping in the historic St Bryce Kirk in Kirkcaldy for more than 140 years now, but the forward-thinking blueprint put forward by neighbouring enterprise PeachyKeen could see a long-neglected part of the church’s grounds transformed for the greater good - and help protect the environment.

As innovators in using human movement to generate electricity, PeachyKeen is looking to create playground equipment that will do just that on a portion of land which is currently under utilised just off Kirk Wynd.

Various activities are envisaged, including a roundabout, a hand crank, a pedal pod, a water window, a water vortex and an interestingly-named “reaction wall cow” - all of which will generate electricity that can be stored or put into the grid.

Director Andrew Bowie revealed the concept for the renewable energy playpark had been in the pipeline for more than a year now, but Covid-19 had put the brakes on the plans.

However, Mr Bowie and his team are delighted to see the proposals finally go before planners.

“Our workshop is right beside St Bryce Kirk and it had this area of land so we just decided to ask if it would be open to a partnership. It agreed to with open arms,” he explained.

“The idea is to put in a series of activities that will produce electricity that can be stored, and the excess could be used to light the paths around the area - that sort of thing.”

It is hoped it could spawn further similar developments further down the line, although Mr Bowie admits that is dependent on the reception from council planners and locals.

But he added: “The help we’ve received from FIfe Council in developing the application has been great and we’re aiming to make the playpark as inclusive as possible so it can be used by people from the age of five to 105.

“The people involved with St Bryce Kirk have also been absolutely first class.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.

https://www.localsubsplus.co.uk/nord/dm/FFP/V