Residents launch new development body to improve Fife town

‘My Cowdenbeath CIC’ has been launched to help tackle poverty, improve the town centre and local neighbourhoods, create new green projects, celebrate the town’s rich history and to share why Cowdenbeath is such a good place to live, work and visit.

It held its first meeting in January and is keen to get stuck into local priorities, working with Fife Council, Cowdenbeath Community Council and other local organisations.

Local campaigner Stuart Duffy has formed the board of directors with other ‘well-kent’ Beath faces including, Liz Rae, Vicky Kinloch, Irene Burt and award-winning businessman, Colin Sneddon.

The group aims to be up and running and attracting funding by next month.

Stuart, who was made a UK ‘Point of Light’ in 2018 for his community work, said the group has ambitions to achieve real change in the town:

“We know Fife Council can’t do it all, so we’re stepping up and helping to drive forward initiatives which the people of Cowdenbeath tell us are their priorities,” he said.

A CIC - community interest company - is a business set up for charitable aims and cannot make profit for personal gain. It will seek to work positively with local partners to tackle some long-standing issues.

It aims to launch a Festival of Ideas during the summer, capturing ideas and suggestions from local groups and residents.

“This organisation has to look to the future and plan for what Cowdenbeath residents will need in five, 10, 20 years time” said Stuart. “We need to think about things like transport and the congestion through the High Street, about business support to keep our town centre thriving, but also about neighbourhoods to make sure folk have the facilities near them which they value, like playparks, car parking and green spaces.”

“We’ve also got a responsibility to think about how we can come up with solutions to the challenges of today, like the Town House and some of the shops which have lain dormant for years.

“Other towns and villages around Scotland have seen real success from residents getting involved and setting up these development companies, which can help bring in new money and investments – so we’ve been looking to them for inspiration!”

“We’re not saying we can fix everything or do it overnight, but we do think local folk can play a key role in deciding how we want our town to look in the future – it’s up to us to speak up and get our thinking caps on!”

The group is hopeful it can attract seed funding support from Fife Council to get the initiative underway, then use the skills and experience from within the organisation to multiply that funding through other means.

‘My Cowdenbeath’ will be meeting with local organisations, including the council, Civic Week and Community Council to outline their ambitions over the next few months ahead of a full public engagement campaign later in the Spring.

Visit https://mycowdenbeath.scot