WEST Fifers are being urged to have their say on community facilities which could be sold off or put into community hands.

A Fife Council review has revealed that many community facilities are “underused, no longer fit for purpose or don't meet the needs of local people”.

The Press previously told you that there were proposals to transfer a number of council properties in West Fife into the management of local groups, including Touch and Halbeath community centres, and the James Allen Centre.

There were also plans for the Kincardine Library and post office to move to another building, and for Aberdour Community Centre to be transferred to the community or leased.

Fife Council leader David Ross said: “There are some great facilities across Fife. Many are run by the council, some by others.

“Opening times vary and the services you can access are different depending on where you go.

“Some are less well used than others, many are no longer fit for purpose, and communities tell us some don’t meet local needs.

“It also costs a lot to keep them running – over £10million a year with over £200m worth of repairs that we’ll need to tackle in the next few years.

“We’ve been looking at these facilities again and have gathered lots of information including running costs and how they are used.

“Even if we wanted to keep everything running as it is now, we simply can’t.

“Given the financial challenges ahead, we need to think in fresh ways about how public services and community facilities are best delivered in local areas.”

The online consultation is now live at www.fifedirect.org.uk/letstalkchange and will run until June 30.