New play area planned for forest

An extensive new play area is planned for Tentsmuir Forest.

The park, which will include equipment such as a fortress with slide and fishermen’s village and boat structures, will be built north of Kinshaldy car park.

It will replace the existing park in a safer spot away from traffic and include equipment suitable for disabled youngsters.

Forestry Commission Scotland has applied for planning permission from Fife Council. It has also sought consent for a hard standing area for food and cycle hire concessions.

Robin Lofthouse, beat forester for Fife, Angus and Lowland Perthshire, said the commission was “very excited” about the development

He said: “We have been careful to ensure that the final proposal for this development fits in to the landscape with minimal impact and have gone to great lengths to ensure that the successful tenderer for this project had this at the top of their list of considerations.

“All the structures are made of wood, with a natural twisted form, the colours and textures of materials chosen for safety and so they will not appear intrusive.”

A bypass path is also to be created for users of the Sustrans cycle route and Fife Coastal Path, linking to the concession areas.

However, those behind the project say funding is yet to be found for this element of the development.