OVER 170 new jobs are expected to be created through site servicing and remediation of derelict and vacant land at the Mountfleurie Industrial Estate, Fife Council has said.
The £683,496 project follows work at the 16-hectare Levenmouth Business Park near Buckhaven, which is due for completion at the end of this year and will create over 50 years.
Fife Council said it is now turning attention to the 1.05-hectare Mountfleurie Industrial Estate, where serviceable plots will be created and is anticipated to increase the private sector investment in the area by £4-5 million, the local authority added.
Both Levenmouth Business Park and Mountfleurie Industrial Estate are located in close proximity to the new Leven and Cameron Bridge railway stations, which are due for completion next year. The sites will also be accessible by active travel routes in the region and enhanced bus services.
Fife Council’s economic development team will lead on the promotion of the new business developments, aiming to secure investment and occupiers of units at the properties.
Pamela Stevenson, Fife Council economic development service manager, said, “The investment into these sites from the Levenmouth Reconnected Fund will enable the development of Class 4, 5 and 6 business use and will complement the reinstatement of the railway in Levenmouth and drive economic growth in the area.
“By unlocking and bringing vacant and derelict land back into productive use, the investment into these projects will deliver serviceable and sustainable sites to boost employment and support a sustainable workforce in Levenmouth.”
Both sites have benefited from funding allocated from the Levenmouth Reconnected Fund, which aims maximise the economic and social opportunities presented by the new Leven rail link, the regeneration of the River Leven and its proposed path network, investments in renewable energy, and other initiatives being implemented within Levenmouth.
Councillor Altany Craik, spokesperson – finance, economy, and strategic planning, visited the Mountfleurie Industrial Estate and said, “Levenmouth is on the cusp of a great opportunity. With the railway coming next year, this is the time where we have to build the rest of the infrastructure around it and ensure the return of the railway is a success.
“The opportunities being created from the return of the rail link are endless, not only in unlocking employment options for local people, but in attracting new businesses and investment to this wonderful part of Fife.
“Fife, and Levenmouth in particular, has so much to celebrate at the moment and these developments will only strengthen the Kingdom’s position as the best place to do business.”