PLANS for a £10 million, 300-feet national monument in West Fife are to be unveiled to rival Falkirk’s Kelpies and the Angel of the North.

‘Citizen Spire’ is the brainchild of artist Ian Moir, one of the creative minds behind the rejuvenation of Dunfermline’s old fire station into a contemporary arts hub.

Inspired by the tales of his grandfather who fought in the Spanish Civil War, the pyramid structure is dedicated to citizenship, and would be three times the size of Falkirk landmark The Kelpies.

An exhibition will open at Fire Station Creative on March 3 for the public to see the plans and to encourage them to air their views on the structure and its potential home, which he hopes could be between Rosyth and Kelty, and visible from the M90.

Speaking exclusively to the Press, Ian said: “For the benefit of West Fife I would like to see this project come to fruition and a major landmark like Citizen Spire could help place West Fife on the national and international map.

“Art brings people together. It got me thinking what else we could do that would bring people together and start reimagining the future and making the best for one and other. Every other week I think of a new reason for this project as it’s all-encompassing. 

“Citizenship is something a lot of people take for granted. I’ve also been forced to think about it more as my wife is a US citizen who recently just got her own British citizenship.

"When you consider the sacrifices people make for the benefits of being a free citizen, it seems appropriate that there should be a designated venue to explore this wonderful thing called citizenship through expressive means. The whole point is that it will be accessible to every man, woman and child. “

Rather than building a purely artistic folly, Ian is eager to make the structure a venue for discussion and education with plans to house galleries and exhibitions exploring the themes of citizenship.

Architects have estimated the total cost of the project could be in the region of £10 million but Ian is hoping the exhibition will be able to draw out investors and generate popular support for the concept, which would create an influx of local jobs for West Fife in the short-term. 

“It’s important that this structure also honours its local heritage and paying tribute to mining communities and not just aiming for the universal benefits that this site would bring,” he added.

The exhibition will be ready for public eyes next month featuring work by different artists, architects and craftspeople who have been invited to interpret the core vision of the giant, four-sided spire.