Dunfermline: Abbeyview residents celebrate community hub opening

A free family fun day marked the occasion on October 18, with activities held for all age groups.

The hub sits on the site of the old Tryst Centre, which was demolished to make way for a modern and upgraded facility.

Fife Council Lead Officer Brian Cashman said: “It’s a great hub in the heart of Abbeyview which itself is in the heart of Dunfermline.

“The building has been designed in such a way that every space is adaptable and flexible. There’s not a single room that can only be used for one activity.

(Image: Newsquest)

“Even the games hall can be set up in different ways. For example, we’ve got a group called the Diamond Disco and they do music events for people with additional support needs. There’s no echo in the games room, so it’s great for that.

“The whole purpose of today is to show all the different types of activities that can happen in the hub. We’ve got soft play for under-fives, and active schools doing sports activities like pickleball, table tennis, and badminton, which you can just casually book at the hub.

“We’ve also got arts and crafts, the Community Learning and Development team is promoting adult learning sessions, and there’s a bit of a cooking session going on so kids can come in and make their own pizza to enjoy.”

The Abbeyview community recently lost two local high schools, Woodmill and St Columbus, which relocated to the new Dunfermline Learning Campus near the Fife Leisure Park.

Mr Cashman said: "I think this helps mitigate against the loss. We’ve got the Learning Campus up the road, which can be utilised for community use activities, so hopefully the two will complement each other and the loss won’t be so impactful in the community.”

The large training kitchen is one of the hub’s major draws, with the Fife Council Community Learning and Development team planning to hold cooking lessons every Thursday.

Representative Nyree Keith said: “This facility is going to be great for the community and the whole of Dunfermline. We’ve never had a specific training kitchen as such, so it makes it a lot easier to get groups in for classes.

“We’ve got an accessible space for people with mobility issues, and we’re hoping to get some children from Lynburn primary school into cooking.

The CLD team cooking up a storm. (Image: Newsquest)

“It’s an amazing space, it really is. Going from what we’ve had and the obstacles we’ve faced in the past, we can do things on a larger scale.

“It’s so much more than what we’ve ever had, so we’re absolutely chuffed to be here.”

Fiona Lockett of the community group Food Champions added: “It’s adaptable and you’ve got so many other rooms that you could run an activity and then provide food afterwards.”

(Image: Newsquest) As children entertained themselves by throwing oversized darts, local mother Megan Smith said: "The kids are loving it. It's good for them and the community. Obviously a lot of money has been spent on this, so it’s nice to see that children are getting the benefit of it."