Published: Thursday, 15th May, 2008 8:55am

City centre set for new multi-storey

DUNFERMLINE city centre is to get a major housing and car parking boost under council plans to redevelop the Walmer Drive car park.

Developers are being invited to tender for the project that could see a multi-storey car park, trendy town houses, and a bar/restaurant built on the site.

But there are fears that the new development could shift the focus of the city-centre economy away from High Street and towards East Port.

The building of a multi-storey car park, with room for up to 400 cars, along with the new car park at the extended Kingsgate centre, would mean space for more than 1000 cars in the East Port area.

In addition to the car park, the council has asked developers to draw up plans for more than 80 residential units and possibly a restaurant with views towards the Forth.

The cost of the project is not yet known but it is thought it could run above the £10 million mark.

Fife Council chiefs are hoping the development will rejuvenate the city centre at night, with bars, restaurants and shops tapping into new residents.

Canmore Street car park has also been earmarked as part of the development and could be the site for quality affordable housing.

Michael O"Gorman, development project manager at the council, said the exact details of the project had not been decided but there were a number of options.

He said the council would choose the best option for the site that would make the most of the space.

'Because the car park is an island as such, we can get something really special on the site.

'It"s in a nice area and there are some other nice houses nearby but exactly what will be going there is still up for debate.'

Mr O"Gorman even suggested the car park could be partially built underground.

'When you have a multi-storey car park you always think that it"s going to be several storeys high but in this case you may not even see it,' he said.

And he added that other sites in the city centre, such as the car park on Chalmers Street, could follow the same route if this development proves successful.

The former chair of Dunfermline City Centre Management, Ken Oliver, has long supported the redevelopment of Walmer Drive.

He said the car park in its current state was 'not fit for purpose' because of the slope it"s on.

'We will also have a really good residential development in the city centre that will bring Dunfermline into the 21st century,' he said.

'Hopefully, it will be people with disposable incomes coming to live in the new development. We could see up to 1000 people moving in and that could inject over £2 million into the city-centre economy.'

However, the plan has not been met with universal approval.

Dunfermline Central councillor Willie Sullivan said he was broadly in favour of the idea but was worried about balance in the city-centre economy.

'We do need more people living in the city centre and more car parking, so that is good,' he said. 'My only concern is the city centre moving eastwards, as all the new car parking seems to be up there. We need to balance it out.'

He added, though, that he would be in favour of some development on Chalmers Street, should the one on Walmer Drive be successful.

'Maybe not a multi-storey car park but they could possibly build underground,' he said.

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