Councillor Judy Hamilton

The three developments are part of the council’s commitment to delivering 3,500 new affordable homes by May 2022.

Councillor Judy Hamilton, convener of the council’s Community and Housing Services, commented: “I remain absolutely committed to meeting housing needs of people of Fife. Each new council house, in each development provides every new tenant with a high quality, comfortable home built to the highest standards.

“Our successful affordable housing programme is a top priority for the council and, working with partners including the Fife Housing Association Alliance, we will be aiming to create as many safe, warm and affordable homes for Fifers as possible.”

The three housing developments include:

• 34 new affordable council houses to be built at Westwood Park, Glenrothes. They are part of the wider development of 340 houses in total and the allocation from the Section 75 agreement. They are made up of 22 general needs houses and 12 specific needs houses.
• 34 new affordable council houses to be built at Boreland Road, Dysart. The houses are made up of 24 general needs houses and ten specific needs houses.
• Eight new affordable council houses to be built in Methil at 251 High Street. The houses are made up of six general needs houses and two specific needs houses.

The proposed houses will all be constructed to the developer’s standard design but will comply with Housing for Varying Needs standards and will be equipped with sprinkler systems.

Meanwhile, members of the council’s environment and protective services subcommittee heard today about the work to manage and reduce the impact of flooding in areas at risk across Fife.

Over 450 sites have been identified and work is underway to assess and prioritise each location. Officers are investigating each site and applying a scoring system to prioritise those sites at greatest risk. 

These assessments have currently produced a number of proposed schemes associated with the flood register. The number of schemes will increase over time and may result in flood mitigation work to be carried out, depending on the findings of the investigations. 

Using the capital funds agreed in February 2021, £500,000 will be allocated this year on newly identified projects. The total fund of £5m will be spent over ten years. An additional £450,000 of revenue funds have been agreed to be spent in 2021 as a one-off allocation to address smaller flooding issues. 

Cllr Ross Vettraino, convener of the environment and protective services subcommittee, said: “The speed and intensity of the work being carried out to identify, assess, prioritise and implement plans to address flooding issues across Fife is welcomed. The team have pulled out all the stops to make sure each flood risk site is mapped and investigated and that local people are involved in finding practical interventions where possible. 

“We are proposing to carry out an online consultation as part of the existing flood study in Cardenden, where we’re working in partnership with local organisations and individuals to ensure we take the views of local people and communities into account. 

“Work to clear the Lochty Burn at Kinglassie is also due to start as soon as possible. All the approvals from SEPA to carry out this work have been received and all going well, we expect the project to be finished by the end of May. This is part of a wider programme of flood prevention work which will continue over the coming months. A flood study for this area is also currently being tendered.”