United ‘ready and waiting’ for school site consultation
A WEST Fife football club says it is “ready and waiting” to kick off consultations with Fife Council over the future of the Inverkeithing High site.
The school is due to open in 2026 and Fife Council has already come under fire for a lack of consultation or plans - six possible options will be considered in the Autumn - with local councillor David Barratt last month saying the local community had no faith that a sports facility would be kept in the town.
Inverkeithing United is one of the clubs which uses the existing facilities at the school and its chairperson Jamie Kinnear told the Press this week that they are “ready and waiting” to engage with Fife Council about the site’s future.
“We have had no official consultation from Fife Council yet myself and the local councillors have met on several occasions to let them know what our plans would be for the site,” he explained.
“We have been offered facilities at the new high school in Rosyth when that is built but that takes away from everything we are trying to achieve as an organisation we are in the community for the community. If we go to Rosyth, we are no longer Inverkeithing United.
“Too many clubs are being displaced. With Inverkeithing High School already going, the community is going to be left with a big commercial deficit. We believe that the value we add, we should be in Inverkeithing. We are Inverkeithing United.
“We are open to engage with the powers that be at Fife Council to ensure that there are facilities of some sort for the local community.”
Currently in the process of becoming a charitable organisation, the club has around 300 children participating in football along with around 100 volunteers and another 100 in adult football.
“We have aspirations to remain in the community,” added Jamie. “We believe we are in the community for the community and the service we deliver to local people is invaluable.”
A decision to move Inverkeithing High to Rosyth was made in September last year when councillors agreed that a new facility would be built at the Fleet Grounds.
The new school, which is set to open in 2026, will accommodate up to 1,735 pupils and 152 staff on a 16,305 square metre site.
The new premises will include community-use facilities but not a swimming pool as well as grass and astroturf sports pitches, landscaping, floodlighting, parking and footpaths.
Earlier this month, the council revealed there will be consultation on six options for sports and community-use facilities in South and West Fife.
Three relate to the existing Inverkeithing High site retention and refurbishment of The Wing (including pool, community facilities, grass and synthetic pitches); a new pool with community facilities; or a new stand-alone pool.
The other three options are a new pool and community facilities, or just a stand-alone pool, at another unnamed site in Inverkeithing; or a new pool at the new high school at the Fleet Grounds in Rosyth.