St John’s Works public meetings

Now that the famous St John’s Works chimney in Falkland has finally been demolished, locals have turned their attention to what will be done with the site.

Two public meetings have been organised by Falkland and Newton of Falkland Community Council on Sunday, one at 2pm and another at 5pm in Falkland Community Hall, giving the public the chance to discuss concerns and ideas for the future development of the site.

The site has been identified as suitable for up to 100 new houses, but concerns have already been raised about whether or not the village’s infrastructure could withstand housing on that scale.

A working group has been set up for the community council to consider different options, but its members believe the wider community’s opinion is required in relation to concerns and how the community can move forward with developers.

The chairman of the working group, Rod Crawford, said: “The community have many different opinions for the site and it is important that we collate these all together so we can move forward with one voice.

“The community council will respond to the opinion of the community, ensuring that as a community council, we speak for those affected most by any development.”

The St John’s Works site has been taken down gradually, with the final piece – the chimney – coming down just over a week ago.