Funding contribution sought for £2.2 million community hub

Fife Council will be asked to contribute £250,000 towards the cost of a £2.2 million Tayport community hub project next week.

Members of the north east Fife area committee will consider the request from Tayport Community Trust at a special meeting on Wednesday, when trust vicechairman Richard Tough is due to make a presentation.

In 2015 the trust negotiated the asset transfer of a threeacre former steel fabrication works in the town from Fife Council. They had lain derelict for around 20 years.

On that site, the group hopes to create a fully accessible and inclusive new building that would offer space for community meetings and events, sports, arts, business and tourism facilities and a large cafe.

It will be surrounded by a camping and caravanning site.

Around £1.2 million has been allocated from the Big Lottery Fund, while Resilience Scotland has also offered £400,000 towards the project.

The trust has requested a £250,000 grant from north east Fife’s Improving Health through Leisure and Sport capital programme. That request will be discussed next week, with a further £250,000 bid to be considered by the council’s policy and coordination committee.

Janice Laird, north east Fife community manager, highlighted the need for a quick decision to be taken.

“A condition of Big Lottery funding is that work starts on site before April 2018, therefore there is some urgency in securing the necessary finance,” she noted.

Other funders have yet to take a decision on the plans.