Fife projects recommended for £10 million Levenmouth Reconnected Programme Fund

Members of the Levenmouth area committee will be asked on Wednesday to consider large grant applications – those seeking over £5000 up to a maximum of £5 million – which have already been assessed by a working group and put forward for councillor backing.

The fund was set up to maximise the economic and social opportunities presented by the reintroduction of the Leven rail link, the regeneration of the River Leven and its proposed path network, investments in renewable energy and several other initiatives.

Half of the cash has come from Fife Council, which is managing the fund, while the other £5 million has been allocated from the Scottish Government.

Five initiatives totalling more than £1.6 million are in line to see their applications formally approved next week, while 10 smaller grants of £5000 are also likely to be rubber-stamped.

Council co-leader and Levenmouth councillor David Alexander stressed that the committee will make the final decisions on Wednesday but said: “The projects are all going to add something to Levenmouth.”

The biggest grant recommended for approval is the £714,253 towards the Levenmouth Business Park project, which will see new business units created within 1.3km of the proposed Cameron Bridge rail station.

A grant of £500,000 is expected to go to Fife Employment Access Trust’s Silverburn Park Flax Mill project, which is renovating and restoring the mill to provide a tourist information hub, hostel, cafe and shop, and training facilities.

More than £200,000 has also been earmarked for the Community Trade Hub’s Positive Futures project, which works with others to improve young people’s skills and chances of employment, reduce anti-social behaviour, and increase job opportunities locally.

Plans for a state-of-the-art pump track in Kennoway are similarly likely to be boosted with a recommended grant of almost £45,000, while over £180,000 has been recommended for CLEAR Buckhaven and Methil’s Buckhaven Green Network Enhancement initiative, which will see planting and environmental improvements along key corridors in Methil and Buckhaven linking to the River Leven.

Thirteen projects applied for large grants, although two did not pass technical checks and one was subsequently withdrawn.

Two have been deferred to the next round of funding, while those behind three projects that did not progress beyond the assessment stage have been encouraged to submit a further application for the next tranche.

Expressions of interest will be invited from interested parties for the second round of funding ahead of a final deadline for applications on May 30.

All applications are assessed by a working group panel with a recommendation made to an oversight group for approval and progression to the Levenmouth area committee for the final decision.