Former primary school to be converted into new housing

The old Burntisland Primary School is to be transformed into affordable housing.

Fife Council has granted planning permission to create 27 homes at the listed buildings on Ferguson Place.

Officers approved plans for 21 social rented units and six homes for mid-market rent.

Some outside alterations will be carried out and access for vehicles created.

The school closed in 2014 as the accommodation was no longer big enough for the number of children attending.

It has been lying empty ever since.

More than 600 pupils are now housed in a new, modern school at the town’s Toll Park.

The local authority said the application reflected the need for affordable housing identified in the Kirkcaldy area.

The Scottish Government has provided funding for the project.

An architect statement provided to the council said the older buildings on the site were of high significance and regional importance, forming an important part of Scotland’s architectural heritage.

It said elements of the internal finishes should be retained where reasonably practical.

The statement added: “The school buildings have been vacated and there is a risk of neglect and the possibility of these falling into disrepair or being subjected to vandalism.”

The oldest of the structures on the site, known as the Cromwell building, was originally built in 1876 but was rebuilt in 1913 in the original Tudor Gothic style following a serious fire.