In 2018 a spatial masterplan for Inverkeithing “ImagineInverkeithing” identified a number of potential community projects to improve the area. This included improvements to the Fife Coastal Path described as…
“The community identified an opportunity to improve the experience for users of the Fife Coastal Path as they pass through Inverkeithing. In particular it was felt that there was not a positive sense of arrival, and there was a lack of opportunity to understand and appreciate Inverkeithing’s industrial past. Community members wanted to ensure that proposals were distinctive to Inverkeithing, but consistent and coordinated with the Fife Coastal Path route experience as a whole. This will involve a collaborative approach with other communities along the route e.g. Burntisland.”
Inverkeithing Trust will work with local volunteers and partners to improve the quality of this path network within the Inverkeithing Community Council boundary, in particular the existing Fife Coastal Path route, Pilgrims Way and National Cycle Routes 1 and 76.
We would like to explore improvements to access for walkers, cyclists and those who may wish to use the path as a route for daily travel, thus supporting healthier lifestyles, reduced car use and consequent emissions.
The Trust will work with Fife Council's Communities team to improve signposting along the Inverkeithing section of the path that will highlight various heritage aspects and local stories. It will identify access routes to and from the town centre to encourage footfall through and to the town, improved ease of access and better safety.
The Trust is seeking funding to undertake some initial feasibility studies to improving the path, looking at potential alternative options that make the route more traffic-free. This would include reviewing the potential of current non-coastal path routes eg the old papermill site and along the coast at Ballast Bank. Some initial work, including clearance and tidying carried out by Amey volunteers on a section of path running behind the old papermill site, has been carried out in liaison Inverkeithing Community Council.
The Trust would further aim to liaise with the owners of the land on and adjacent to the path, local people and other organisations (eg Sustrans) to work up plans to transform these areas into quality green space to be enjoyed by the community, visitors to the town and travellers on the coastal path alike.
To support this work, the Trust has been instrumental in establishing a forum of like-minded community groups in North Queensferry, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour – with a view to taking a ‘joined up’ approach to improvement of the coastal path between communities.