A £50 MILLION-PLUS investment to bring hundreds of jobs and turn Junction 4 of the M90 at Kelty into a tourism hub and gateway to Fife should get under way next year.

Four huge projects - backed by the Prime Minister - are poised to bring a major land art project, a new business centre, leisure facilities and a 50-bedroom hotel to the area.

They'll all be housed just off the M90 motorway at the west of the village and it's hoped the economic spin-offs will help breathe new life into Kelty and the surrounding areas.

Local councillor and chair of Kelty Economic Forum, Alex Rowley, said, "From speaking to Gordon Brown, I know he is equally excited about the projects and the impact on the whole area.

"These are huge sums we're talking about and the potential is for hundreds of jobs but that's not including the spin-off to the local economy.

"If we can be ambitious for the area, be bold, we can develop Kelty as a tourist hub and bring new business to the area too.

"In terms of its facilities, and the fact the private sector has shown its willingness to invest, this could really be a fantastic place and a real draw." But he added, "I want Fife Council to work with us and the local businesses, I want them to draw up a masterplan not just for the physical but for the social and economic development of the area." Colin Gilmour, from Hardies, is project manager for the scheme at Moorlands farm and said it could cost £30 million.

It includes holiday accommodation, a swimming pool, pitch and putt golf course and driving range, equestrian centre, a 'Go Ape' adventure area and a tourist information centre.

The local businessman behind the plan, Ronnie Shevas, said, "It's taken a long time to get off the ground - it's taken about 10 years to get through planning believe it or not - but it will hopefully start in the next two to three months.

"It's all to do with log cabins and touring caravans to start with, that's the first phase, and we'll take it from there." He continued, "At the present time I'm not going to forecast any numbers to do with jobs as things will take time to develop.

"But yes, the whole plan is to develop the site.

"The land art project will be across the road from us, there's been a lot of work done in Blairadam Forest so we're central to everything and it's exciting times for Junction 4. "You're within an hour of practically all the main towns and cities here and there aren't many places like that around." Cocklaw Developments Ltd want to start building the first of 26 business units - comprising 110,000 sq ft of space - on land they own at the M90 business park next year in a £9 million investment.

Ken Thomson, of Cocklaw Developments, said, "We've always recognised the importance of junction 4 as a gateway to Fife.

"There is huge justification for further investment in that area, as evidenced by our previous investment in the Butterchurn Restaurant which we used to own up there.

"Our commitment to the business park is a £9 million development for light industrial and office use and its unrivalled accessibility to the M90 and the Central Scotland road network is an obvious aspect to be pursued.

"We look forward to bringing it to market now that planing permission has been granted." One of the most talked about projects is the Fife Earth project, which has been designed by the American award-winning land artist Charles Jencks and will cost "several million pounds". Expected to be complete in 2012, the new restoration plan for the St Ninians coal mine was expected to get the thumbs up from councillors at the Cowdenbeath area committee yesterday (Wednesday) .

Professor Jencks' plan for the 660-acre site includes a water feature in the shape of a map of Scotland, six miles of paths and walkways, four different shaped landscape mounds - conical, triangular, rectangular and horn-shaped - a larger expanse of open water with "dramatic" cliffs and footpaths marked with stones from the St Ninians site.

The fourth plan does not yet have planning permission but the firm behind the application, Kathellan Ltd, who have a major new Baxters food centre next to the proposed site, are confident it will get the go-ahead.

They have outlined plans for a 50 bedroom hotel and conference centre, five tourism retail units, a micro-brewery, children's outdoor and indoor play areas and holiday chalets, coach and car parking at Kathellan Home Farm.

Mr Rowley said, "We have to look at the advantages for the village and the wider area, maximise jobs and tourism by working together.

"If we allow every spare bit of land to be developed and we don't have a strategic plan you can't properly plan for the future." He added, "You don't just want people to stop at the land art for example, have a look and then continue their journey without spending time and money in the local area.

"We've got so much to offer here but we have to be bold, make the most of it and reverse this idea that all of tourism in Fife is at St Andrews and the East Neuk.

"Apart from the four projects you've mentioned, there's Blairadam Forest and Blairadam House, historic Maryburgh - which was built by a famous architect - Loch Leven, Lochore Meadows, not to mention beautiful countryside and the attractions of Dunfermline too." Mr Rowley said the projects, as well as concerns about parking and sustainability for the centre of Kelty, would be among the topics at a public meeting on Wednesday 28th October.