WORK is set to start in the Spring on a new £800,000 city square in the heart of Dunfermline.

Fife Council will use Scottish Government cash to transform the gap site between High Street and Queen Anne Street.

Councillor James Calder, convener of the City of Dunfermline area committee, said: "It's really going to be transformative and we're hoping work will start in Spring next year.

"It's just a few months away until they start breaking ground so it's really quite exciting that such a big project for Dunfermline is going to be taking place in the very near future.

Dunfermline Press: An artist's impression of the new city square in Dunfermline. An artist's impression of the new city square in Dunfermline. (Image: Fife Council)"The funding was confirmed by the cabinet committee earlier this year, since then we've been getting everything organised as it's a lot of work."

The Scottish Government gave councils money from the Place Based Investment Programme, Fife's share was £1.9m, and in April councillors agreed to allocate the money to six projects.

The city square received £800,000 and one of the stipulations from ministers is for work to be completed by September 2024, although some leeway has been allowed given the challenges in the construction industry.

Designs were approved by the area committee in December 2021 with the convener at the time, Helen Law, praising landscape architect Paul Morsley and his team for coming up with "something quite magical".

As well as a city square for hosting farmers' markets, performances, events and exhibitions, plans included a grassed terrace area, more planting and seating, a community orchard, a gateway feature and a community hub with public toilets and an information point.

Dunfermline Press: Designs for the city square were approved by Dunfermline councillors in December 2021. 'One or two aspects' have been changed since then.Designs for the city square were approved by Dunfermline councillors in December 2021. 'One or two aspects' have been changed since then. (Image: Fife Council)

It was hoped Dunfermline would get £10m from the UK Government's Levelling Up fund to pay for it, the money would also have been used for a number of other improvements in the city, but the bid was not successful.

There were fears that knockback would mean the project would not go ahead, there have been various square ideas and funding issues over the years, but now it's set to become a major attraction and a key project for Dunfermline's city status.

Cllr Calder said: "The new city square is really going to make the whole High Street area a more enjoyable, nicer and more welcoming place.

"It will become a centrepiece for Dunfermline.

"It's fortunate that, although we didn't get any of the levelling up money, as a new city there are other funding pots we can apply for and I'm really pleased we were able to do just that.

"This fund from the Scottish Government is to help improve towns and cities and this money will certainly do that.

Dunfermline Press: Taking a different view of the proposed city square in Dunfermline.Taking a different view of the proposed city square in Dunfermline. (Image: Fife Council)

"There may be one or two changes, we had to scale back on some aspects, but they're not huge changes."

The project will resolve a problem that's been more than 30 years in the making.

The gap site was once dominated by a huge Co-op department store – where you could buy anything and everything – that stood on both sides of Randolph Street.

However it closed in 1990 and over the years the boarded up buildings became derelict and a prominent High Street eyesore.

Alfred Stewart Properties Ltd bought the site in September 1999 but after losing patience with the company for their failure to redevelop the site, the council moved to demolish the buildings and pursued a compulsory purchase order in February 2006, eventually paying £3m.

The land was put up for sale, there was talk of shops, restaurants or an hotel, but those plans never came to fruition and no-one bought it.

Dunfermline Press: An aerial view of the gap site in Dunfermline. It's been largely unused since the Co-op department store closed in 1990.An aerial view of the gap site in Dunfermline. It's been largely unused since the Co-op department store closed in 1990. (Image: Fife Council)The plans for a city square also envisage a relocated and refurbished Mercat Cross as a prominent feature, although this idea was strongly opposed by local historian Bert McEwan.

And this week Fife MSP Roz McCall raised the issue again, stating: "The Mercat Cross, which dates all the way back to 1499, is a vital piece of Dunfermline’s historic tapestry, and one which must be protected.

“Moving it would not only risk damaging the beautiful monument but would also impact the local economy.”