News from City of Dunfermline Area Committee

The City of Dunfermline Area Committee met at Inverkeithing Civic Centre this morning (Tuesday 6 June 2023). Here's a summary of the discussion and decisions.

Community Safety

Members heard community safety reports from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Fife Council’s Safer Communities team. Highlights include:

• Dunfermline Police Community Team are working with Active Schools, Boxing Scotland and Trench Boxing Gym running Punch Beyond workshops for young people. The block of five boxing sessions is helping young people gain new skills and an insight into the consequences of violence.
• Dunfermline Police Scotland Youth Volunteers (PSYV) is 24 young people who volunteer their time helping the community. Following the high-profile water deaths last December, Dunfermline PSYV has been working on a water safety peer education programme. Four workshops have been held for local Scout groups from across Dunfermline with 100 children aged between 5 and 10 attending.
• In the last financial year Scottish Fire and Rescue Service saw an 18% reduction in accidental dwelling fires, deliberate fires reduced by four to 22 and road traffic collisions fell by 15 to 12 with no fatal casualties. Sadly, there was one death due to an accidental dwelling fire. 333 home safety visits were carried out by the service giving householders vital safety messages and installing detection systems.
• During 2022/23, the Safer Communities team investigated 322 cases of antisocial behaviour, responded to 325 pest control requests, received 1116 environmental enforcement complaints and carried out 1500 patrols in the Dunfermline area.
• The Safer Communities team worked with Milesmark Primary School to tackle dog fouling in and around the school grounds. Pupils designed posters to raise awareness of the issue and helped put up warning signs. The campaign has reaped results as there’s been a noticeable improvement in the area and other schools across Fife are looking to do similar campaigns.

City of Dunfermline Convener, Cllr James Calder said: “As a committee we thank officers for all their hard work during this challenging time and congratulate the partnership approach to community safety in Dunfermline.

“I’m delighted to hear about the positive work of Dunfermline PSYV, they’re involved in so many community safety initiatives, which are making a real difference to people’s lives.”

For full details of these reports see the committee papers.

Budget Requests
Local Community Planning Budget

• Wifi network at Baldridgeburn and Touch Community Centres - £16,452
  Installing infrastructure to allow Wi-Fi access to community centre users and provide more digital opportunities for all.
• Cosy Kingdom - Warm and Informed - £24,731
  Focussing on Abbeyview, Touch, Woodmill and Baldridgeburn this campaign will give free, impartial energy advice to those most at risk of disconnection from their energy supplier.
• Dunfermline Community Councils - £50,000
  This funding will support the ongoing work of Dunfermline’s 11 Community Councils, building their capacity to address the specific needs of their community. Each Community Council will need to apply for a share of this funding.
• Holiday provision - £25,000
  By working closely with local partners, during the school holidays we’ll offer fun activities across the Dunfermline area to children and families.

Cllr James Calder welcomed these budget requests saying: “There’s so much work happening across Dunfermline helping people with many aspects of their daily life. These projects are tackling inequalities and poverty by providing opportunities for all and creating thriving communities.”

For full details of these reports see the committee papers.

Community Recovery Fund

Councillors agreed to support the following projects from Dunfermline’s share of the Community Recovery Fund:

• Development of St Leonard’s Playpark, Brucefield - £60,000
• Crossford allotment extension and wetland - £60,000
• Steading for wellbeing - £100,000
• Food Insecurity Worker - £42,798
• Cosy Kingdom - Healthy Homes Dunfermline - £24,731

The Community Recovery Fund is helping communities recover from the pandemic and cope with the rapid rise in the cost of living. More information about each of these projects is available in the committee papers.

Area Convener, Cllr James Calder explained: “It’s great to see more community projects coming forward to benefit from the Community Recovery Fund. This fund is helping Dunfermline recover from the pandemic and become a successful city we can all be proud of.”

Traffic Regulation Orders

Committee agreed to the proposals of the following Traffic Regulation Orders:

• B916 Aberdour Road, Dunfermline – Due to the active travel route a two-way mandatory cycle lane will be installed on the south side of Aberdour Road.
• Proposed taxi rank, Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline – The existing taxi rank on Hospital Access Road 3 is not included in a Traffic Regulation Order. To help NHSFife with traffic management and to allow enforcement, it’s proposed to include ‘No Stopping (except taxis)’ restriction.
• B912 Whitefield Road, Dunfermline – reduce speed limit from 40mph to 30mph on the section of Whitefield Road passing Queen Margaret Hospital.

For full details of these reports see the committee papers.