Public overwhelmingly back plans for path to connect two Fife towns

A total of , with 92% of people welcomed the proposals for a path to connect Anstruther and Pittenweem.

Over 200 people attended four community engagement events and over 400 went online to comment on the designs for a proposed multi-use path connecting the two communities.

Representatives from Fife Council, Sustrans and the local community council groups were able to chat to residents and listen to their concerns and feedback at local events held in Pittenweem High Street and at Anstruther Co-op.

The consultation, a community-led project supported by Fife Council and Sustrans, ran for a month and enabled local people to have their say on the options which would encourage active travel, linking the shops, schools and places of interest whilst providing a safe walking, cycling and wheeling route to Waid Academy.

It is part of a longer route between Kilrenny and Pittenweem, with the Kilrenny to Anstruther section already installed.

The main outcomes of the consultation found that:

A good response from communities at either end of the path was received; Pittenweem (41%), Anstruther (31% and Cellardyke (17%).

Walking was stated as the most likely use (56%) followed by cycling (37%) and wheeling (5%).

Respondents said they would most regularly (daily or near daily) use the path to go to the shops, take exercise, to get out, and to get to visitor attractions. They said that they would less regularly (monthly) use the path to get to school, work, and health services.

The benefits across both routes were seen as broadly the same. More than 300 comments were given for each route.

Core path 246 was the stated personal preference over the A917 route by a significant margin of more than 2:1 (63% vs 28%).

A small majority of people (58%) would support both routes being developed.

The demographic data showed a reasonable balance was achieved although the younger age groups were under-represented

Convenor of Economy, Tourism, Strategic Planning & Transportation Sub Committee, Altany Craik said, "We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation.

"This project is the result of ongoing work from community representatives to establish a safe, traffic-free active travel route between Anstruther and Pittenweem."

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