Residents call for a rethink over plans to close well-used Fife road for SIX MONTHS

Community Councils in both towns say the move to close off a 500m stretch of the B923 Kinghorn Loch road would cause major road disruption as well as affecting businesses and organisations such as the Ecology Centre, Craigencalt Farm and Burntisland Golf Club.

And they have called for alternative measures to be examined before such drastic action is considered.

Meanwhile Fife Council says that although it has had some dialogue with the housebuilder, Lovell Homes, which has planning permission to build 133 homes on the edge of Kinghorn Loch, no formal application for a road closure has been made.

Sandy Dall, lead professional for roads network management, said: “We’ve been approached by the developer but we haven’t agreed any road closure, indeed we haven’t had a formal application for a closure.

“Of course sometimes it’s unavoidable but, in this case we’ve asked Lovell Homes if they can revisit their design to remove the need for a road closure.”

Roy Mackie, depute provost of the Royal Burgh of Kinghorn Community Council, said: “People are very concerned about it. We have talked to Lovells and asked them to see if there are other solutions.

“We know they need to build the houses and it will involve major drainage work. Normally this would involve closing half the road and maintaining access with traffic lights, but that could be difficult as the road is narrow.

“We have asked if they could form a temporary diversion instead.”

Alex MacDonald, chairman of Burntisland Community Council, said members had only learned of the proposal at a meeting in Kinghorn.

“We shared the information from that on our Facebook page and within hours received over 100 adverse comments,” he said.

“The closure of any road for 24 weeks is quite extraordinary and this is one of only three routes into Burntisland from Kirkcaldy. Its closure would increase traffic along Kinghorn Road, Cromwell Road and Cowdenbeath Road, which have speed limits lower than the B923 and are already congested at peak times.”

Adam Forrest, regional operations director for Lovell, said the company’s main consideration was ensuring the safety of local people and staff during the construction.

“We are currently in discussions with Fife Council to identify a suitable access solution that minimises disruption to local residents while construction work is ongoing,” he said.