A WEST FIFE outdoor nursery could open up a third location if plans for a community-led development at the former Inverkeithing Primary school site progress.

Little Bugs Nursery, based at Fordell Firs, announced this week that they have been working with the Cohousing Scotland team who are hoping to regenerate the derelict land.

A Facebook post added that the project was "very much" in the consultation stage and added that it was hoped the old school would have "multiple" community uses.

The former primary school, parts of which date back to 1874, was left in ruins after a major fire in November 2018.

There have been plans to demolish the building and redevelop the site, and previous proposals to knock it down and build 28 homes were withdrawn after opposition from Historic Environment Scotland.

Last month, it was announced that the Phoenix Project – which sets out to transform the site into an 'inter-generational neighbourhood' – had received Fife Council backing.

An online consultation event took place last week to update interested parties on the plans

If it goes ahead, the initiative would transform the vacant and derelict site to provide a range of community uses which could include growing space, play space, art facilities, a wildlife garden, community café and ‘men’s shed’, as well as providing an accessible pedestrian route from west Inverkeithing to the High Street.

It would also include an older peoples’ cohousing project which could then be rolled out in other parts of the country.

Tom Morton, architect for the project and trustee of Cohousing Scotland, said the online meeting had gone well.

He said: "There's a lot of interest both from the community and the local area and some key stakeholder organisations but also more broadly across Scotland as a pilot project.

"We are working with groups around the country. It is part of a wider community-led regeneration of the town centre working with other partners in the community. It is great to be working with the nursery group and also we are planning to include some additional day care provision.

"We have got quite good relations with the owner of the site and they have given us access to do surveys and develop the project.

"At the moment, we are rewriting the business plan. That will take another couple of months or so to complete. We are meeting with Fife Council and the Scottish Government to see if we can come up with a plan that we can deliver.

"It is now tuned to the conditions in Inverkeithing and the needs of the community. What we find in Inverkeithing, we can find in a lot of other communities – the effects of isolation, poor housing, lack of accessibility and a need for investment in social housing.

"We are trying to come up with a model and an example of good practice. We now have pathways and funding routes and that is what we are working on. It is not straightforward – it is a huge challenge. It is very ambitious but that is what we need to do if we are going to change these situations."