COUNCILLORS have kicked out an application which would have seen the a new football pitch for Rosyth FC substituted with a developer contribution.

The derelict Yard pub has been flattened to make way for the Lidl store and Rosyth FC were forced to leave their Recreation Park ground after the land was sold to the developer by Fife Council.

Part of the deal was for a new grass pitch and facilities, including changing rooms, fencing and parking, to be provided for the club at the Fleet Grounds.

However, although Rosyth FC moved out two years ago, they have been left waiting on the promise of a new home to be fulfilled.

Developer MacTaggart and Mickel had applied for this condition to be removed.

They had asked to make a “developer contribution” of £175,000 to the council instead on the basis the “club are using Fife Council’s facility at the Fleet Grounds and associated pavilion in Rosyth”.

However, this was knocked back by members of Fife Council's central and west area committee on Wednesday.

Planner Kathryn Pollock had recommended that the application be rejected and said consultees Sports Scotland had said it was their opinion that the amount would not be enough to provide the required football facility.

Rosyth councillor Andrew Verruchia backed the refusal but expressed concerns about what happens next.

"The next question will be how can the developer be made to get on with it?" he said. "What authority to we have as a committee or anyone of the council to make developers get on and provide this facility? My fear here is Rosyth FC ends up with nothing."

Rosyth FC welcomed the decision by the planning committee.

A statement on the club's Facebook page said: "Rosyth FC are happy to confirm Fife planning committee rejected a proposal today from MacTaggart and Mickel to remove the clause requiring them to provide the football club with a replacement park.

"We continue to work closely with local councillors as well as the SWFCSP.

"We appreciate this continues to be a long, drawn-out affair, however, this is definitely a step in the right direction. We thank everyone for their support locally and hopefully this matter will be resolved soon."

Craig Ormond, director at developers Mactaggart & Mickel, said they had been working with Lidl and Fife Council for "some time" to agree a way forward.

“Earlier plans to provide a replacement pitch for the club have been affected by uncertainty around the future of the site at the Fleet Grounds, which is earmarked for the potential replacement to Inverkeithing High School," he said.

“This is why we are committing to provide Fife Council with a £175,000 contribution towards the cost of a replacement football pitch for Rosyth FC.

“The financial contribution could be used to construct a new pitch in the future or immediately used to upgrade the current artificial pitch and changing pavilion at Fleet Grounds to meet the specific needs of Rosyth Juniors.

“The pitch has already had the benefit of £400,000 investment in the last few years. We appreciate the uncertainty these changes have caused for the club and we have worked closely with the council over the future of the site.

“We remain optimistic that by continuing to work with the local authority, we can find a way forward for this site and the provision of future facilities at Rosyth FC.”