THE man behind the doomed purchase of the former St Andrew's Erskine Church said 'I don't regret it for a minute'.
John MacDonald, who used money left behind by his late brother to help the Yes U Are Partnership buy the Pilmuir Street property in 2012, said they ultimately saved the building from falling further into ruin.
Their long-held plans have finally had to be shelved, with possession reverting back to the Alfred Stewart Property Foundation (ASPF) late last year after a long drawn out legal dispute, and the old church will be up for auction on February 22.
He said: "We had great support from local businesses and the community, and at least the building is still standing and has been preserved.
"We're owed something out of it but it depends what it sells for."
Although the full vision of a multi-purpose community hub and cafe at the city centre site wasn't realised, they did manage to get parts of the building refurbished and open with vulnerable people benefitting from art, creative writing and gardening classes, family support, dog-walking projects and court support.
They also helped develop skills and source work placements for local people while plants and flowers were, when they lost control of the building, taken to the Glen and re-planted in the peacock memorial garden.
Mr MacDonald said: "Tatiana Serrano (pictured above), our manager from Ecuador, deserves great credit and is really the person responsible for turning it into a community asset and bringing all these groups in.
READ MORE: Church deal scuppered by legal dispute with late businessman's foundation
"A lot of people really benefited and there was a lot going on that was really worth doing.
"I don't regret it for a minute although it was personally costly."
He continued: "It's a wonderful building, an amazing property. And (Reverend Ralph) Erskine is the only person, apart from Carnegie, to have a statue in Dunfermline.
"We saved the building from dereliction, we mended the roof twice, and had a great group of volunteers.
"We achieved a fair amount in the beginning with the projects we ran too, particularly with people who had mental health issues via the Fife Employment Access Trust.
"We had people with learning disabilities and their support workers coming to us, Andy's Man Club resided with us for a couple of years, and we also built a good relationship with young people who were outside of education and training.
"We supported people with a criminal justice background and I did some work with people with addictions."
After claims of misconduct by trustees in charge of the ASPF, a firm of chartered accountants, Aver, were appointed as permanent judicial factors in 2015 to look after it and the Alfred Stewart Trust.
That resulted in the deal to purchase the former church coming under greater scrutiny - Mr MacDonald said there was a "mistake with the deeds" - and after years of legal stalemate, he said the partnership admitted defeat and the building is back in the hands of the ASPF, who plan to sell it at auction.
He added: "The irony is that the Alfred Stewart Property Foundation is a subsidiary of the Alfred Stewart Trust charity.
"We are also a charity and their objectives are almost exactly the same as our own.
"So if the people administering it now had followed logic or showed some community interest, it would have realised a charity that already has £5.5m in its assets didn't really need to take us on."
No-one from Aver was available for comment.
The auction takes place on February 22. You can find out more information and register at https://www.shepherd.co.uk/commercial-auctions/
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