The area has one of the largest quantities of vacant and derelict land in the whole Kingdom and councillors are being warned that run-down sites and buildings are holding back investment.

A recent community planning strategic assessment for South West Fife explained how dilapidated properties were having a “negative effect” on the perception of the area, holding back inward investment and detracting from trading potential for nearby businesses. Many of these buildings also have long-standing issues which will take “considerable” time and effort to resolve.

However Councillor Lesley Laird (pictured), Fife’s spokesperson for economy and planning, believes that ongoing work is doing a lot to tackle the problem areas.

“We’re making progress and one of the examples of that in the work ongoing in Donibristle Industrial Estate,” she said. “We have issued a CPO (compulsory purchase order) for the Maxwell Building and we were involved with Havelock in their move to John Smith Business Park so we could possibly demolish and redevelop the old site.

“Donibristle is a key industrial area for us and has a number of top companies in Fife based there. We want to invest in the estate and attain and attract new investment. We have to have a plan and that’s absolutely what we have at Donibristle and other estates across Fife.” The council is also benefiting from finally having access to a share of the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF), something it had been lobbying to get for years. Despite having the fourth largest area of vacant and derelict land in Scotland, with around 200 sites classed as such, Fife had never received money from the fund since it was created in 2004. Last year, the council successfully battled to be included and is now reaping the benefits from a £1.32m share of the money.

Councillors planned out a strategy that will use a rotating fund to continue and sustain the improvement of derelict land in the future and Cllr Laird pointed out that it was more of a game of chess rather than simply using all the money at once.

“We’re using the fund to bring up areas and make them marketable,” she said. “We’ve got a rolling fund and a systematic approach to these issues.

“It’s about intent and strategy and we’re making a plan to get there.”