A PUBLIC consultation on the multi-million pound plans to develop Pilmuir Works will take place in Dunfermline today (Thursday).

The dilapidated former Duracord factory, long considered an eyesore, is set to be transformed into a mix of homes and retail.

And the proposals for the listed building in Pilmuir Street will be outlined across the road at Carnegie Leisure Centre between 11am and 2pm.

The plans include the erection of new buildings and the conversion, part demolition, extension and refurbishment of existing buildings, as well as parking and an alteration to the existing access.

The proposal of application notice, which triggers a 12-week consultation period before a planning application can be tabled, was submitted to Fife Council by Edinburgh-based Byzantian Developments Ltd.

The firm is half-owned by Dunfermline property developer Steven Turnbull, who previously told the Press: “It will be retail and residential and a mix of new building and renovation.

“For the residential aspect, a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments is what we are hoping for but we are in the early stages.

“There are a lot of challenges on the site and it is going to be a case of working along with the council and Historic Environment Scotland. They are wanting it all kept but structurally we don’t know if it is all sound. There are a lot of initial works to be done.”

Previous plans for the building, submitted by the now-collapsed Linklever Ltd, gained permission in 2007 for shops, a restaurant, creche and a coffee bar, as well as 80 flats.

Mr Turnbull added: “There are lots of nice features and characters but it has been open to the elements – it has been empty for 10 years and in that time, there has been water damage, fires and they all take their toll on any building.

“Everything is getting retained that can be. The chimney will be retained as will the engine house.”