ACTION ON DERELICT BUILDINGS URGENTLY NEEDED

Local Councillors in Cowdenbeath have been urged to take action on empty and derelict buildings in Cowdenbeath Town Centre.

The state of several buildings have been highlighted to Fife Council’s Area Convener, Cllr Alex Campbell, after concerns were raised at the recent community council meeting in the town.

Cllr Campbell has committed to raise the issue with local officers, in the hope that the owners can be found to address the state of several properties or look at alternative options.

Buildings such as the former bakery and fish shop on the corner with Stenhouse Street, the old Weepers newsagent at the Fountain and the old saddlers building next to The Clearing have all been highlighted as shops which have lain empty for more than a decade.

Cowdenbeath’s regeneration and development group Director, Stuart Duffy of My Cowdenbeath CIC, said:

“We know from a recent audit of High Street businesses that our vacancy rate is around the national average of 15%, with just 17 empty premises out of almost 120. The vast majority of our town centre businesses are doing their best and want the place to look good as they know it will attract more footfall. Unfortunately, for different reasons, several buildings have lain empty for years now and it seems like they are forgotten – we want to change that!”

Cowdenbeath town centre has bucked the trend for closures in recent years, with many businesses recovering quickly from the Covid pandemic. My Cowdenbeath recently looked at all the 117 business units in the High Street and found almost a third are used for retail (32%), and 23% for personal services like nails, hair and beauty. One in five properties (20%) were classed as food outlets such as takeaways or cafes. 4% of the town centre units were licensed premises.

Stuart continued, “There’s now some action happening at the Town House and we’re due to have a new £1.2m development at the Green Square coming as part of the redevelopment of the old social work site, funded by the Edinburgh City Region Deal, which will have a mix of residential and commercial space, and we’ve seen successful businesses like the Reptile Hoose and Mack Chilli making headlines in recent weeks, so there is good news about Cowdenbeath.”

“I think we have to also focus on the derelict units and get them turned over into attractive potential business units for folk – we have to keep adapting our High Street to new consumer trends and doing the best we can as a community to encourage small businesses to have a go and open here in the town if Cowdenbeath is to prosper. I hope council officers and others will support the community council and My Cowdenbeath to get some action on these empty units and turn them around.”

Some of the empty units in our High Street which urgently need some ‘love’:

GOOD CAUSES LAUNCH JOINT APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Community groups in Cowdenbeath are joining forces to recruit much-needed new volunteers for a range of services in the town.

Locals are being encouraged to attend a volunteering open day, organised by the My Cowdenbeath development group, this Saturday at the Maxwell Centre to sign-up to give just a few hours for their community and learn new skills themselves.

Thirteen local groups will be on hand to talk about their services, outlining what they deliver and how people can get involved, with opportunities in everything from social media to becoming a Trustee!

My Cowdenbeath Director, Stuart Duffy, told us:
“We’re really pleased to bring our Connecting Cowdenbeath volunteering day back this year, after its launch in October. Volunteering is fantastic for both groups and the individuals themselves – people can learn new skills, make new connections and contribute to find employment or doing something really rewarding in your spare time.”

“The work of volunteers in our community is often overlooked but they do so much behind the scenes, from organising Gala Days and fundraising events, to managing the finances and keeping charities on the right course. Whether you have 2 hours to spare or 20 hours, there are so many good causes keen to connect, so come along and sign-up!”

Groups attending the event, open from 12.30pm til 3pm include Police Scotland Youth Volunteers, MCR Pathways, Cowdenbeath Foodbank, CLOBAR and Home-Start Cowdenbeath Area.

Stuart went on to explain that volunteering can be good for all ages, with older people who are perhaps retired very much welcome to attend. “Older people have particular experience, knowledge and skills which are very much in demand. I know many of the groups really value the input and wisdom that older people can provide and they often have a bit more time to offer in retirement, so don’t be put off from stepping forward. We welcome folk from all backgrounds and experiences and I’m certain there’ll be a cause ready with open arms to welcome you in.”

The Connecting Cowdenbeath Volunteer Open Day will be held on Saturday 9th March from 12.30pm til 3pm at the Maxwell Community Centre on Stenhouse Street.

NEW LUMPHINNANS HOMES PAUSED INDEFINITELY

A new housing development of 97 homes for social rent in Lumphinnans has been paused indefinitely, meaning potentially months of waiting for locals hoping to move in.

It’s understood the developer, First Endeavour LLP, and Fife Council are in a contractual dispute, with the local authority taking action to end the contract, local councillors updated Cowdenbeath Community Council at their recent meeting.

Just back in December the development was hailed for its innovative heating system and that the first 25 units would be ready in the Spring, but with the site abandoned, that plan now appears to be in serious doubt, and no update when the first homes will be ready.

John Mills, Head of Fife’s Housing Services told us, “We are still assessing the potential impact of this issue on four affordable housing developments, totalling 204 new affordable homes at Dunfermline, Lochore, Kirkcaldy and Lumphinnans. We’ll be working to make sure building work continues and that new homes can be finished and allocated with minimum delay.”

An artists impression of the new Lumphinnans development.

SNP Councillor for Cowdenbeath, Bailey-Lee Robb, said it was “disgraceful” the situation had been allowed to get to this stage. “The Scottish Government have provided Fife with over £100 million for housing over the past decade and yet this Labour-run Council can’t get the houses built that are so desperately needed by folk living in cramped, cold and mouldy homes. It seems to me like they are asleep at the wheel when it comes to house building in Fife.”

But Labour’s Housing spokesperson, Cllr Judy Hamilton hit back, saying, “Far from being asleep at the wheel – working with our partners, the Scottish Government, Fife Housing Association Alliance and private developers, we have delivered one of the largest social housing programmes in Scotland and even the UK, delivering 7,400 homes since 2012. The impediment we have to accelerating this programme is that one of the four partners, the Scottish Government, is proposing to break our sector-leading partnership and cut their support by a whopping 26%, putting programmes for new homes we need at risk. They have de-prioritised housebuilding. Jobs and apprenticeships in the construction industry are under threat and our local economy faces a significant blow.”

The development, just off Lochgelly Road, was to contain a mix of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 bedroom homes, including wheelchair accessible cottages, as part of Phase 3 of Fife Council’s Affordable Housing Programme.

Conservative Councillor for Cowdenbeath, Darren Watt, told us, “Although this is still an ongoing situation, it is rather concerning that it has got to this stage without any formal update or briefing prior. The lack of suitable housing in the Cowdenbeath area is very much top of my agenda and I will do all I can in my role and capacity to ensure this development is completed at the earliest opportunity and without needless dither or delay. Further to that, I will ensure a robust investigation is carried out and scrutinised at the relevant committee at Fife Council, as Councillors, local residents and stakeholders will have many questions that will need answered by those responsible for overseeing such projects.”

The new development promised “energy efficient homes, which will include ground source heating and solar panels to help reduce utility costs.” Now, with more than 15,000 people on the Fife Housing Register, the building work has been paused and the site gates closed.

It was reported that the firm had “mistakenly” sacked around 30 workers days before Christmas after redundancy letters had been issued by the builders, with bosses citing a delay in payment from Fife Council, which they later withdrew as an “administrative error”.

The street names for the new builds were agreed in February 2023, with Meldrum View and McLeod Way honouring local doctors, and Zetland Crescent to honour the Marquess of Zealand who donated the war memorial to the village.

Attempts by us to contact First Endeavour LLP for comment have so far been unsuccessful.

An aerial image of the Lumphinnans site take from Google Maps, Copyright Google 2024.

BIG BEATH RAFFLE TO RAISE VITAL COMMUNITY FUNDS LAUNCHED

My Cowdenbeath have launched a fundraising raffle with some star-studded prizes on offer, all in aid of their vital community work in the local area.

Raffle tickets cost just £10 and prizes on offer include a pair of tickets for P!NK at Hampden Park, the Girls Aloud come back tour at The Hydro and popular local festival Rockore!

BUY NOW

Group finance director, Liz Rae, said she was excited to bring the opportunity to local people, “We’re really pleased to launch our Big Beath 250 Raffle, its our first big fundraiser and we hope folk will really get on board and buy a ticket for themselves or a friend. As the cost of living really bites, a tenner could win you a pair of tickets to see the international sensation P!NK at Hampden Park in the summer – what an incredible concert she promises!”

“There’s also a pair of tickets to the Girls Aloud comeback tour for those who like their Pop acts and we’re keeping it local with a pair of tickets to Rockore too! There’s also a number of other prizes, including a crate of lovely red wine, some whisky, French vodka and a £50 voucher for Vix Cakes, so you can get that loved one a birthday cake to remember!”

The group have been working hard in the background to carry out community engagement throughout 2023 to build a picture of the priorities for improving the local area, with more than 1,100 people taking part in a community survey. The non-profit company are now planning the delivery of projects which can deliver on these priorities set by locals.

Full list of prizes:

  • Pair of tickets to P!NK at Hampden Park (28th June)
  • Pair of tickets to Girls Aloud at The OVO Hydro (9th June)
  • Pair of tickets to Rockore 2024 (24th August)
  • Gin Hamper
  • Crate of Italian red wine (6 bottles)
  • Crate of Italian red wine (6 bottles)
  • £50 Vix Cakes voucher
  • 1L bottle of Glenfiddich whisky
  • 1L bottle of Grey Goose vodka
  • Scentsy Gift Set

Raffle tickets are priced at £10 each and they’re available now, with a limited number of just 250 numbers available. Buy yours today here.

NEW CHARITY TO CREATE EVENTS WITH SOCIAL BENEFIT IN COWDENBEATH

A newly formed charity will create community events which boost the local economy and fundraise for improvements in their local area, it’s been announced.

Cowdenbeath Events Crew is a registered charity and has the ‘gold standard’ in accountability and oversight, being regulated by the Scottish charity regulator OSCR.

The charity aim to launch events in the town which help raise money for developments in the area, a similar model to that of Benarty Events Group who have raised thousands of pounds from Rockore, money which is reinvested in their community.

The Events Crew are hoping to run their first events this summer and will make more use of the Green Square in the town’s High Street which is seen by many as an under-used asset in the town. They’re now keen to recruit volunteers with events experience to join the team!

Chair of the trustees, Stuart Duffy, said:

“We’ve been learning lots over the past year from inspirational organisations, like Benarty Events Group and our hardworking Gala committee, about what works well and where the gaps and opportunities might be. We think there’s a place for a group which compliments the amazing community spirit in Cowdenbeath and places an emphasis on doing social good – really developing volunteers, creating places and events for community togetherness and raising funds to invest in the town.”

“Recognising the skills and importance of volunteers is a key aim of Fife Council’s ‘Plan 4 Cowdenbeath 2023-2026’, so we really feel this is the right time to get local folk involved in making a difference.”

“For example, a huge majority of people who gave feedback in our recent survey said they really value the town’s public park but they want to see it improved. Maybe some events could be held there again, similar in the way Kelvingrove’s Bandstand in Glasgow was brought back into use for the community a few years back.”

Kelvingrove Bandstand brought back to life for the community

“We’re really keen that we do that with the support of existing groups like the Civic Week and Community Council, who have done a great deal of work already. My Cowdenbeath have been supporting these groups since we launched in 2022, so I know the new Events Crew will continue to work closely with local partners. We all want to see Cowdenbeath prosper and this is our way of lending a hand to meet that ambition.”

One of the first tasks for the new charity is to recruit volunteers who want to support some of the exciting plans for the group – both at a Trustee level and as an Event Volunteer. The charity are encouraging anyone with trustee experience running a charity, or those with events experience at festivals, music events, or other public gatherings, to get in touch by email – info@cowdenbeathevents.scot – setting out why they’d like to get involved.

The charity will also have a stall at the next Cowdenbeath Volunteering Day on Saturday 9th March, 12.30pm til 3pm at the Maxwell Centre in Cowdenbeath, to which everyone is encouraged to attend.

“Launching this charity is one of the main building blocks we wanted to put in place in the town” Stuart continued, “we feel it helps give us more effective and transparent structures to build on for the future. The development company My Cowdenbeath CIC is now established and working on its first projects; our media group Radio Cowdenbeath CIC is set-up and launching soon; the Community Resilience Group was established back in December to support in times of emergencies; and now the events charity is ready to go. It’s an exciting time as we start to deliver on some of the priorities identified in the recent community study, with over 1,100 local participants, it’s been great feedback to get us started!”

COWDENBEATH VOLUNTEERING DAY 2024

My Cowdenbeath CIC are to host an open-day dedicated to volunteering this spring to help connect local people to good causes in the town.

The ‘Connecting Cowdenbeath’ volunteering open day will take place at the Maxwell Centre from 12.30pm til 3pm on Saturday 9th March.

A previous event held in October 2023 attracted more than 15 local organisations who presented information on their work and the volunteering roles available.

More than 60% of residents surveyed by My Cowdenbeath said they’d like more information on volunteering in the local community, which is well known for its great community spirit.

Vicky Kinloch, a Director with My Cowdenbeath and the group’s volunteering lead, said:

“We’re building on the success of last years event and we promised to repeat it again in the spring, so we hope lots of groups and individuals step forward again to get involved.”

“We’ve got a fantastic community spirit in this area and volunteers are the lifeblood of so many good causes and groups in our town – they are an amazing army of kind, selfless people who we should nurture and value. We hope we can show people who might be interested in volunteering that its really not that scary and anyone can do it – whether you’ve got 1 hour a week or 20 hours a week to give!”

Groups are being invited to sign-up through a dedicated registration form HERE and locals are encouraged to drop-in on 9th March and to bring a pal along too!

For more information, contact Vicky Kinloch by email: vicky@mycowdenbeath.scot

Vicky with Alex Rowley MSP who popped into the October open day

HELP US DEVELOP THE COWDENBEATH LOCAL PLACE PLAN

Locals are being invited to take part in a community mapping exercise to help protect land and spaces which residents feel are important to them.

My Cowdenbeath are developing a Local Place Plan (LPP) for Cowdenbeath, which will also take in the villages of Lumphinnans and Hill of Beath.

Residents are being asked to attend drop-in events at the Maxwell Centre to help identify the places which should be protected, like play parks, green spaces and woodland and to suggest where new developments might go in the future.

Mapping events are being held on:

  • Wednesday 15th November, from 4pm til 7pm
  • Saturday 18th November, from 12pm til 3pm
Stuart Duffy, Director of My Cowdenbeath CIC

Stuart Duffy, Director of My Cowdenbeath said:

“Developing a Local Place Plan is a good opportunity for people to say what they’d like to see in their local area and how land should be developed. It might be about protecting a playpark for local kids, or a woodland walk which people really appreciate. It also extends to look at what could be permitted with certain areas of vacant land – where would new houses be built, or expansion of industrial land.”

“There is a set procedure for us to develop an LPP for Cowdenbeath, so this mapping exercise, along with the input from the recent resident survey, will help us to produce a Draft Plan, which then goes out to public consultation for 28 days, with a period for local people to have another say. The final plan needs to be with Fife Council by the end of January 2024, so it’s important to have your say early on!”

“We’re also inviting people from Hill of Beath and Lumphinnans to take part, since the villages are so close to Cowdenbeath and we all rely on each other, it just makes sense! So whether you feel strongly about something being done about a bit of vacant land, or you definitely don’t want new housing in your area – we want to hear from you!”

A Local Place Plan is a new form of community consultation, developed by the Scottish Government and being implemented by all local Councils in Scotland. Here in Fife, LPP’s are to be agreed by the end of January 2024.

Once agreed and submitted, the plans will become a material consideration for any new developments or land use in the area for many years to come.

If you’d like to take part, drop-in to the Maxwell Centre on 15th or 18th November and have your say on how land should be used in Cowdenbeath – everyone welcome!

SPARKLE IN COWDENBEATH THIS CHRISTMAS

Plans for a spectacular Christmas in Cowdenbeath and now in place to help locals and visitors celebrate this festive season!

Local groups are working together to ensure Cowdenbeath has a festive season to remember, with several events happening across the community in late November.

Cowdenbeath Primary School are set to have a Santa’s Grotto and Christmas Fayre at the school on Sat 25th November, from 10am til 12noon. There’s kids crafts, tombola, stalls and a hot cuppa for anyone dropping in!

On the same day, My Cowdenbeath are having a Christmas Fayre at Trinity Church on Sinclair Drive between 11am and 3pm. There’s plenty stalls to get some Christmas shopping done and buy a fundraising calendar too – a warm welcome awaits and maybe even a visit from our favourite man in the red cape and white beard! Ho Ho Ho!

On Sunday 26th November, Cowdenbeath Civic Week are holding their kids Christmas Party from 3.30pm to 5.30pm in the Leisure Centre where kids of all ages are welcome for a fun festive party. Tickets are £2.50 for children with adults free of charge.

The focus then shifts to the town square on the High Street as it’s time to switch on the Christmas Lights with events open from 4.30pm and the big red button being pushed at 6.30pm! This year Cowdenbeath Community Council are providing a sparkling festive display, with lights up and down the town centre so don’t miss it!

COMMUNITY VOICE STRONG AND RESILIENT IN COWDENBEATH

More than 1,100 people have taken part in a widespread community consultation in Cowdenbeath on how the town should develop in the future.

Coordinated by the local development group, My Cowdenbeath, the exercise asked residents for their views on what works well and how the town can improve, with the results set to be published later in November.

The community engagement project included an online survey as well as several in-person events with a stall at the Gala Day, then in the Green Square and at Brunton Square in the town centre throughout August and September 2023.

Stuart Duffy, Director of My Cowdenbeath said:

“We are really pleased with the high rate of participation in the residents survey, we appreciate everyone who took part and gave us their opinions about our town and how we can move forward together as a community.”

“There were so many great comments about how the area has such a strong community spirit and ofcourse there were lots of complaints about the area too – that’s what the process is for. We’re busy analysing all the data from the 1,124 responses and putting a report together which helps us set some of the priorities for the future.”

The organisation also put forward a number of proposals to test how local people would back them, such as new events in the town square and improvements to the public park. A previous Cowdenbeath Action Plan, which was developed by Coalfields Regeneration Trust, expires early in 2024 and the group hope to have developed some initiatives to take forward into a new Community Action Plan by then.

“We’ll be leading the development of a Local Place Plan and a Community Action Plan in the area and hope lots of people will support what we’re trying to achieve, to really improve the area and make it better for everyone who lives and visits here.

There was good news for 4 locals too, who scooped £400 in prizes as part of the community survey as a thanks for taking part!

Prize winners were drawn live on Facebook earlier in October:

Elizabeth Hood – £250 voucher

Russ Hoffland – £50 voucher

Nicola Weir – £50 voucher

Fiona Merrilees – £50 voucher (donated to Foodbank)

Anyone keen to support My Cowdenbeath in the development of their Local Place Plan, Community Action Plan or future projects can contact us on: info@mycowdenbeath.scot

GALA HERITAGE HONOURED IN NEW ARCHIVE PROJECT

A new history project will share the story of Cowdenbeath’s Gala through the decades with the world for the first time!

Thanks to just under £10,000 of funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland, old photos and home videos will be brought together as the town takes a walk down memory lane, creating a new online archive.

Local development group ‘My Cowdenbeath’ are launching the project this weekend and hope locals will get involved as volunteers or by lending them photos and videos of past events. Whether you were a former Gala Queen, Princess or Citizen of the Year, or maybe you walked with your sports group or sat on a decorated float – the group would love to hear from you!

Through research conducted by the group and the images, which will be scanned and digitally catalogued, the archive will form part of a new website for Cowdenbeath Civic Week, which will go live later in the year.

The project, which has the support of today’s Civic Week committee, was the idea of local activist and My Cowdenbeath director, Stuart Duffy, who was inspired into action after the success of the Broad Street Centre Memories nostalgia page on Facebook.

“Back in 2017 when we discovered the thousands of photos taken by Kenny Aitken at Broad Street Centre and put them online for people to look back at all the great activities at the Centre, we were blown away by the response from local folk – everybody seemed to love going through all those old photos and it helped people connect with friends they maybe hadn’t seen in years” Stuart told us.

“When I was researching who our Citizens of the Year and Gala Queens had been in Cowdenbeath, I realised there wasn’t any list easily available and there didn’t seem to be a historical record of the Gala, Civic Week or how the events have evolved from the old Miners Gala and Co-op ‘Store Treat’ years ago. So this project is really a nod to our history, putting all these old Gala photos that we have online and inviting the folk in the town to add their photos or videos into a proper archive for generations to come.”

“Whether it was a gird race or the surprise contents of your gala bag, we’ve all got memories of the Gala. These celebrations of community life through the decades have meant so much to the people of our town but if we don’t record it somehow, it can easily be lost.”

“It’s also about celebrating that community spirit we all talk about too, such as the efforts of people like Mary Maxwell, Jack Allan or Alex Haddow who kept the Gala going for years. We can see from other towns and villages that times are changing and we don’t don’t know how long events like Gala Days will last, so we think its about time we celebrated what they mean to places like Cowdenbeath.”

Fellow My Cowdenbeath directors, Liz Rae and Vicky Kinloch, are pictured with some examples of the photos held in storage by the late Kenny Aitken, the former community worker who captured thousands of pictures in the town in the 80’s and 90’s. They’ll be involved in researching the origins of the Gala and pulling together all the material from library archives and local people.

Stuart explained there are lots of ways for folk to get involved,
“We’ll be at Cowdenbeath Gala this Sunday 30th July and we’re happy to take any old photos or videos up the park, so just look for our gazebo! We’ll scan them, catalogue them all and then give them back so there’s no risk to losing your pictures! We’re also looking for volunteers who’d like to get involved in the group too – if you have some time available in the evening or at weekends over the next three months, we’d love to welcome you onboard – just come along and see us at the Gala Day or check out the post on our social media or at https://mycowdenbeath.scot”