EIGHT more small business units that are being built to meet demand from firms keen on moving to Dalgety Bay are almost ready.

Fife Council said the commercial properties at West Way, on the old Havelock Europa site in the Hillend and Donibristle Industrial Estate, are due for completion in "late summer".

Work on the first phase began back in August 2020, with money from the Longannet Task Force, and interest was so high that firms were trying to snap up the six units before they were even built.

That led the council to plan a second phase of eight single-storey units, this time the investment came from the City Region Deal, which will soon open the door to businesses looking to relocate or expand in the town.

The two phases have cost around £4 million and local councillor David Barratt told the Press previously: “There’s money available to build units that people actually want rather than older buildings that don’t suit their needs.

“Companies don’t want these massive steel warehouses any more and no-one wants to move into an industrial estate that’s declining.

“This is now a more modern industrial estate and businesses moving in encourages other businesses to move in, they thrive on that as they want to be where the hustle and bustle is."

The new starter units at West Way are contributing to the wider regeneration of the Hillend and Donibristle Industrial Estate and are part of the Fife Industrial Innovation Investment Programme.

The programme has been developed to support businesses in the Kingdom to work in new ways that will make them more competitive and successful.

And this is being done with money from the Edinburgh & South-East Scotland City Region Deal, which aims to transform the regional economy with £1.3 billion of investment spanning 15 years.

After a period of decline in the industrial estate, the council’s policy of knocking down empty and unpopular sites to make way for new business premises is paying off.

The Havelock site became vacant when the market leader in the manufacture and installation of furniture relocated to Kirkcaldy in 2015.

The empty premises were bought and demolished by the council to help “regenerate” the estate and clear the way for new businesses to come in.

Havelock collapsed in August 2019 and was bought out of administration by Deanestor, which has its Scottish HQ in Dunfermline.