PLANS have been submitted for the new £7.2million state-of-the-art sports and community hub on Kelty’s Main Street.

Fife Council’s long-awaited project will demolish the existing community centre and build a new one, joining it to an extended Kelty Primary School.

The idea is to have all the facilities under one roof and the hub will have a large indoor sports hall, changing rooms and fitness suite, a purpose-built youth club as well as the library and local services. There will also be a soft play area, a creche, studio space, kitchen, computer suite, seating areas and a reception.

It’s also proposed to replace the neighbouring Kelty Hearts grass football pitch with a new artificial surface.

The extension to the school, parts of which date back to 1898, will see four extra classrooms created and the removal of classroom huts – installed in 2012 to cope with an increasing school roll.

If planning permission is granted, work is expected to be complete by next summer.

A Fife Council report said, “The proposed Kelty Centre will provide a one-stop hub that is centrally placed within the townscape and provide an opportunity to provide a building with civic identity and sense of place.

“This will accommodate a number of facilities to suit the needs of residents during the working day and recreation activities in the evenings or weekends that will potentially extend to external sports provision.” It added, “It is hoped that the existing site context will provide an exciting opportunity for townscape regeneration that is for the benefit of residents of all ages.” The Kelty Centre project took a significant step forward in November when the council’s community investment award confirmed funding of £5m. Additional funding came from planning gain from a housing development, the St Ninians Trust and the education service.

The current community centre utilises a former 19th century church building and the council said it was no longer “fit for purpose”.

The first phase will see work start on the school, the demolition of the centre will follow in late summer.

The current community centre will close on Thursday 1st May.

There is a ‘final goodbye gathering’ on Tuesday, from 7 to 9pm, for anyone interested in having one last look around the building and sharing their memories and stories.

The contact for the event will be Kerrie Hutchison at Kelty Community Centre on 831313.