CHRISTMAS has come early for villagers in Kelty and Crossgates, who have been putting together their wish-lists.

Cowdenbeath area committee stumped up £250,000 and asked families how they’d like to see the money spent where they live.

Top of the list in Kelty was £30,000 for outdoor multi-gym equipment, while folk in Crossgates also had fitness in mind when they asked for £30,000 – for a cycle route to Fordell Firs – as well as £25,000 on a multi-games area.

The projects will now get the go-ahead thanks to Fife Council’s pioneering Oor Bit project, which saw more than 1,400 people from the Cowdenbeath area voting for their favourite local projects as part of a drive to involve the community in deciding local spending priorities.

The council’s area manager, Kevin Sayer, was the driving force behind the project – one of the first of its kind in Scotland. He explained: “[The money] was made available through the council’s Cowdenbeath area committee in partnership with community councils and other community organisations to encourage local people of all ages to come up with ideas to improve ‘oor bit’ of Fife. 

“A steering group made up of 19 local community representatives was supported by the council and Pauline Grandison, from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Citizens from as young as eight were given a say and we had great support from Democratic Scotland, D21 online polling website and the Your Priorities polling website.”

The £30,000 outdoor multi-gym in Kelty is set to be situated in the park at Bath Street, while the cycle path for Crossgates will run from Crossgates to Inverkeithing and link up in passing with the cycle path from Duloch to Dunfermline. A £25,000 MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) would be located by the bowling green and give youngsters somewhere to play outdoors.

The winning projects were announced at a meeting of the area committee. Chairman Cllr Mark Hood said: “This has been a fantastic process where local people have taken control of their own destinies. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing all of these projects make a real difference in our local communities and this project serve as a blueprint to encourage similar work across Fife.”

The first phase of the scheme, which ran over the summer, saw families generate more than 150 ideas online and by completing postcards. 

Those ideas were reviewed by the steering group and a shortlist of 30 projects was put to the public.