Fife Council pledges more than £9m to fight flooding and potholes

The latest biennial review conducted by the SNP-Labour administration plans a commitment of £5.45 million towards fighting flooding, and an extra £2 million each year for the next two years for roads. A further £5.65 million could be set aside for unspecified infrastructure improvements.

Additional funding is also expected to be drawn from the council’s capital funds to upgrade Burntisland’s Beacon Leisure Centre at a cost of £1m, another £1m for the Inverkeithing Community Hub and an unspecified amount for the new community centre for Abbeyview in Dunfermline.

More details on these and other plans are expected to be detailed as part of Fife Council’s 2021/22 budget, which will be discussed over the forthcoming weeks in public and behind closed doors.

Council co-leaders Councillors David Alexander and David Ross acknowledge that funding for capital projects – those involving large one-off spends such as buildings and new roads – is “tight” but say there are opportunities to invest more money across the Kingdom.

They said: “The council already has an ambitious capital programme to maintain and improve our assets, including new schools to support Fife’s growing population, new care homes and council housing.

“Capital funding is tight, but we have the opportunity to put additional investment into some key projects over the next couple of years.

“We also have the opportunity to spend another £5.65m on one off priorities over the next two years. Improving our infrastructure for the benefit of our residents and visitors is a key priority for us and we will invest this money where it’s needed most.

“These are our initial proposals but we hope it may still be possible to identify funding for some further new projects but this is partly reliant on further funding becoming available through the Scottish Government’s budget.”

Elsewhere, housing services convener Judy Hamilton has suggested that a six-figure sum could be spent in next year’s budget on extra resources to tackle anti-social behaviour across Fife.

Hamilton says housing officers want more resources to directly support those who are negatively affected by disrespectful behaviour – and are calling for £320,000 of funding to recruit extra staff to make this possible.

She said: “The behaviour of a small minority of tenants and residents has a significant impact on the safety and wellbeing of our communities.

“Antisocial behaviour in any form will not be tolerated and this proposed investment will support earlier intervention to prevent matters from escalating.

“We recognise that antisocial behaviour can happen 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and our officers will be available to support those affected as and when required.

“Whilst we will engage with our communities to resolve disputes amicably, we will not hesitate to take action against anyone who continues to have a significant impact through their behaviour to ensure our communities remain safe and tenants and residents can live peacefully in their own homes.”

Full details of the budget will not be made public until councillors convene to discuss the proposals and propose amendments. However, the administration is drip-feeding proposals out by means of public announcements and press releases.

Councillors council will make final budget decisions on March 11, with next year’s rates of council tax and rent for social tenants decided on February 25.