SOUTH-WEST Fife communities are missing out on their fair share of money from a fund that has dished out thousands of pounds to other areas in the Kingdom.
That's the view of Conservative councillor Mino Manekshaw, who said he was “concerned” that some communities are missing out on funding from the Crown Estate, which has handed out more than £320,000 to Fife in the last two years.
The West Fife and Coastal Villages councillor has been seeking new funding for the Torry Bay nature reserve since benefactors Scottish Power withdrew financial support after closing the nearby Longannet power station.
Cllr Manekshaw has asked for some of the £56,000 left over from both years of Crown Estate grants to be directed towards the reserve.
“I’m not aware of being approached for any suggestions or inputs,” he said.
“I have for the last year been involved with trying to find funding … and yet here was the ideal vehicle, which I actually investigated, only to be told it covered the domain of North Queensferry round to Tayport, as if it didn’t include the Forth Estuary, which you are now telling me it does.
“It is a major issue within the ward for various reasons and I would very much like some funding coming this way.”
Funding from Crown Estate Scotland, which manages all land owned by the monarch in right of the Crown, has paid for improvements to river outlets, harbours and coastal bays in Anstruther, Leven, Kirkcaldy and at Tayport Harbour.
In West Fife, Fife Historic Buildings Trust received £21,590 to support its ongoing Inverkeithing Heritage Regeneration Project, raising awareness of the history and significance of local buildings from the pot of grant money.
Councillors on Fife Council’s policy and co-ordination committee heard last Thursday that nearly £137,000 was gifted to the council last year and a further £184,000 this year to improve coastal areas.
Gordon Mole, head of business and employability at Fife Council, said the projects were chosen by a working group which assessed the benefits each could make to communities, the local economy and the environment.
In response to Cllr Manekshaw, he added: "There is obviously an opportunity in future years to develop a pipeline of projects, so I’m happy to pick up with you on that.”
Sharon Douglas, community investment team manager, added: “I’m happy to speak offline about the nature reserve and see if we can identify any external funding that might be appropriate.”
Scottish Power has confirmed that it ceased funding for Torry Bay after shutting down Longannet in March 2016.
A spokeswoman said: “We did provide funding for Torry Bay Nature Reserve, including contributory costs for a ranger, as part of our community benefit funding while Longannet was operational.”
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