THERE will be no fireworks in Dunfermline this year – despite a £100,000 bail out from Fife Council.

Councillors yesterday agreed "transitional funding" to keep town centre initiatives and events going but the annual display in Pittencrieff Park in November won't be one of them.

Dunfermline Delivers, the Business Improvement District (BID) company, organised the fireworks, Christmas lights switch-on and Outwith Festival, which bring tens of thousands of people into the town.

They were also a key part of many other improvement projects and safety schemes for the town centre but they lost their renewal vote and will be wound up by September 20.

The policy and coordination committee yesterday approved a request for £100,000 – around a third of the BID company's annual income – “for this financial year only to allow key initiatives to continue and provide time for Dunfermline Delivers to develop a new, fit-for-purpose model”.

But it's not soon enough for the fireworks with council officers confirming there's no-one to take over the display, which regularly attracts around 40,000 people, for this year.

Co-convener of the committee, councillor David Ross, said that it had come as a “big shock” that the BID company was unsuccessful in gaining enough support.

He said: “I’m disappointed that some of the bigger national companies decided not to vote for the scheme.

"They have made good money out of Dunfermline town centre.

“Dunfermline has been much more successful than some of our other town centres, especially in mid-Fife.

"To reduce or remove one of the key elements of support would be so short sighted. We don’t want Dunfermline to start to decline.

“I am very happy we are able to step in and provide transitional funding that will keep as much good work going into Dunfermline as we possibly can.”

A report by Gillian Taylor, the council's community manager for Dunfermline, outlined the reasons for the £100,000 bail-out and said that if nothing replaced Dunfermline Delivers, the town would suffer.

She said there was a real risk of a "backslide in the economy", an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour, a rise in shop vacancy rates, a deterioration in the appearance of the town centre, more graffiti, drug use and fly-posting, an end to floral enhancements, no more bus and taxi marshals and the end of the night-time safe zone and Pubwatch scheme.

Ms Taylor's report had added: “There will be fewer town centre events organised for the benefit of businesses and the community.

“Existing events run by Dunfermline Delivers including the Food and Craft Weekend, Outwith Festival, fireworks display and Christmas light switch-on will stop.

“The result will be a drop in footfall, vibrancy, consumer spend, dwell time and community cohesiveness.”

Her report said that, with the £100,000 funding to keep them going until a new model was found, Dunfermline Delivers could be converted into a community interest company (CIC), a non-charitable limited company.

The BID model saw around 400 businesses pay a levy which then funded town centre improvements – replacing that money is the biggest issue.

Potential sources include a business rates incentivisation scheme and a recoverable levy on the small business bonus scheme.