Catalyst and Pinnacle want to relocate to Dalgety Bay site

Two firms, Catalyst Event Production Services and Pinnacle Fitness, want to relocate to the town and have submitted plans for vacant land at 24 Ridge Way, in the Hillend and Donibristle Industrial Estate.

The joint proposal promises jobs and investment but locals say it would "significantly increase" traffic in the area.

The site on Ridge Way has been vacant for years. Plans to build 56 homes there fell through. (Image: Google Maps)

The chair of Dalgety Bay and Hillend Community Council, Anja Graham, wrote: "We have raised concerns about the suitability of the road layout adjacent to this proposed development in the past and continue to be concerned over the safety of traffic passing on the blind summit next to the dance studio opposite this site.

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"This development would significantly increase the volume of traffic in its vicinity both during and after construction."

She added: "The road infrastructure does not seem well suited to the proposals. There have already been several near misses on the blind summit next to this site."

Fife Council have still to consider the application and the community council said they wish to become a statutory consultee.

Catalyst designs and organises large events while Pinnacle repairs and upcycles gym equipment. Both are currently located in Kirkliston and want to move to Dalgety Bay.

The plans are for four "energy efficient" industrial buildings covering class four (business), class five (general industry) and class six (storage and distribution) uses.

If approved, hardstanding will also be put down, a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) will be installed and 47 parking spaces created.

The site is just under two hectares in size, close to the town's recycling centre, and used to house a former army officers' mess, later turned into commercial offices, and an auction house.

Dalgety Bay and Hillend Community Council fear that the new development would make existing traffic problems even worse. (Image: Google Maps)

Springfield Properties announced plans in 2014 to demolish the buildings and put up 56 homes but the development never went ahead and the council later bought the site.

It was cleared and it's considered brownfield, although it's become overgrown and has three trees there that have separate tree preservation orders.

Catalyst are a live event technical production business and clients include Christian Dior, Scottish Rugby, the New York Times and the Edinburgh Book Festival.

They have 37 people on the payroll, consisting of technicians, warehouse operatives, joiners, operations and logistics, project managers, 3D spatial designers and office support staff. 

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Catalyst said: "Looking at the trends, we forecast continuing to employ eight to 10 staff at every additional £1m revenue.

"This equates to an additional 20 to 30 staff increase in the next three years."

Pinnacle say they are pioneers in the “remanufacturing” of gym equipment in Scotland, which helps clients such as Edinburgh Leisure, Perth and Kinross Live Active and Culture Dundee to refresh their gyms while reducing their environmental impact.

With a workforce of 12, the firm have "very real challenges" around recruitment and "anticipate adding five staff for every £1m increase in turnover".

They added: "It is likely we will therefore create 15 new jobs in the next two years.

"We are seeking to grow our team by adding product designers, electrical engineers and material designers."

Pre-application discussions took place with the council and at that stage, transportation officers had "no significant concerns" about the proposals.

Catalyst said it was "very important" their site had good public transport links so staff could take the bus or train and reduce their "environmental impact".