The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Former mine to go back to nature as ecotherapy centre
Plans to turn a former opencast mine in Fife the size of 700 football pitches into a major ecotherapy attraction have taken a step forward.
The 930-acre St Ninians and Loch Fitty site, just off the M90 near Dunfermline, has sold.
It was previously earmarked for what would have been Scotland’s biggest art initiative, the Scottish Earth Project.
Fife Council reached agreement with new operator Hargreaves to license the extraction of the remaining coal and complete land restoration.
Now, the land has been sold to National Pride (St Ninians) Limited and will become an “ecotherapy wellness park”. The St Ninians site comprises a range of wood and agricultural land surrounding Loch Fitty, which was previously operated as a successful trout fishery.
The site, by Kelty, includes a restored former surface mine and dramatic land forms created by American landscape architect Charles Jencks, co-founder of the Maggie’s cancer care centres.
They are to remain “for generations to admire and remember the influence that the people of Scotland have had upon the world,” the developer said.
A planning application is yet to be submitted to Fife Council.
Gordon Mole, head of business and employability at the local authority, welcomed the news.
He said the Fife ecotherapy plans “have the potential to support our tourism sector and local economy” as well as “the wellbeing of local communities”.
He continued: “We look forward to receiving a planning application and to working closely with National Pride and its partners to create an area which complements the local environment and landscape, whilst creating a leisure destination in the heart of Fife.”
National Pride is undertaking a similar project, The Barony, in east Ayrshire.
It is also developing the Supported Community Village in East Anglia.
Irene Bisset, chairwoman of National Pride, said: “We will create vibrant and restful places for all to experience the beauty and healing power that nature can bring into all our lives.
“Our plans include the rewilding of much of the area as our commitment to the decarbonisation of the environment, all sensitively crafted to enhance nature and stimulate mental and physical health for guests.”
Councillor Altany Craik, convener of Fife Council’s economy, tourism, strategic planning and transportation committee, said: “I look forward to speaking with the developers to find out more details.”