Councillors on the Levenmouth Area Committee met today for their August meeting at Fife House in Glenrothes.
A number of agenda items were discussed, and here's a round-up of just some of them.
Community safety partners praised as collaborative approach pays dividends
Councillors on the Levenmouth Area Committee have hailed the achievements of the council and its community safety partners in helping to tackle a range of issues – in particular anti-social behaviour.
Reports from Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, and Fife Council’s Safer Communities Team were among those considered by elected members at their meeting today, and all three underlined just how important the Improving Together Levenmouth (ILT) approach has been in getting positive results.
The multi-agency programme has gained admirers from local authorities across the UK as a blueprint in how to tackle various challenges, and Police Scotland’s report for April 2023 to the end of March 2024 was once more encouraging.
Motorbike-related calls have fallen by 90% since ILT began, bringing about a significant decrease in the anti-social use of motorbikes and quads, while there was also a 40% drop in deliberate fires since last year with prevention through education being key to this fall.
Policing in Levenmouth has maintained a violent crime detection rate over 10% above the national average, described as an “incredible result” by police representatives, and, while crimes of dishonesty have increased in some cases, Levenmouth still managed to draw an increase in overall detection rates, for acquisitive crime, over the 2022-2023 period.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service similarly reported significant drops in unwanted fire alarm signals, which can be a drain on resources, and deliberate secondary fires, while the council’s Safer Communities Team highlighted the wide range of activities and events they have been involved with locally over the past year – ranging from road safety to home security advice and tackling private space anti-social behaviour.
With the Levenmouth Rail Link now up and running and investment being made in and around the River Leven, Fife Council and its community safety partners continue to be mindful of the potential for anti-social behaviour, crime and the fear of crime, and are working together to put pro-active plans in place.
Councillor Colin Davidson, Area Committee convener, continued: “It’s a credit to the joined-up partnership that we have in the Levenmouth area that we are seeing some of these great results.
“Shoplifting for example is a huge issue during the cost-of-living crisis but the way we’ve responded to it and the effort partners have been putting in to tease out some of the issues people have been facing should be commended.
“This is a time to reflect on the progress, but we’re not resting on our laurels here and the arrival of the new railway is testament to that.
“We’ve been working with all partners to put programmes in place, to ensure there’s higher visibility around the stations and track, and try to pre-empt things we might face moving forward.
“It just shows that across the board we’re working together to think about things pro-actively, and put mechanisms in place to tackle issues that arise very, very quickly.”
Funding approved for several Levenmouth projects
A number of funding requests to support a range of local projects have been approved by councillors on the Levenmouth Area Committee.
Elected members agreed to contribute three separate sums from the area’s Local Community Planning Budget, with £22,000 going towards the installation of new play equipment at Viewforth Play Area in Buckhaven, £15,985 supporting the Outdoor Adventurers project being run by Methilhill Community Children’s Initiative (MCCI), and £10,000 going towards the overall cost of the ongoing Grounds for Growth initiative in Levenmouth.
By using ward 22 specific budget and slippage primarily from a job at Oakvale Road, officers have managed to bring forward the Viewforth Play Area proposal forward without any impact on imminent planned work at Herd Park, Glenlyon Road, Lilac Bank and Greig Park, all of which are in the process of being commissioned or due to go on site soon.
In terms of the MCCI request, the funding will help the charity meet growing demand for the Outdoor Adventurers project which focuses on after school care for primary school age children.
Demand has increased significantly for places, and the funding will directly support the increase in capacity, allow the charity to bring in a further member of staff to ensure compliance with ratios required for the care of young children, and cap daily fees to ensure affordability for local parents.
Meanwhile, the Grounds for Growth approach has been running in the area for the last year and assists in achieving some of the core aims of the Levenmouth local community plan, namely: providing a range of training programmes for local people, carrying out work that benefits green assets in Levenmouth, arranging work placements, and supporting candidates to progress into work or further training.
Councillor Colin Davidson, convener of the Levenmouth Area Committee, said: “All of these projects fit well with agreed priorities contained in the Levenmouth Local Plan, and we’re delighted to support these where we can.”
Councillors also agreed to use £8,500 from the Community Recovery Fund to support additional insulation work and reroofing at Coaltown of Wemyss Bowling Club.
The club has already carried out a range of largely self-funded improvements to improve the quality and sustainability of the building, which is a vibrant part of the village community and hosts a range of events over and above its main sports provision.
These include family fun days, old folks treats, Christmas parties, and warm spaces provision in the village, while Kingdom Housing also use the venue for all its tenant participation engagement work.
Councillor Davidson continued: “We have worked with several bowling clubs which are often at the heart of their communities to improve access arrangements and facilitate usage by disabled bowlers, notably by supporting the installation of fully accessible toilets and access ramps both into the buildings and down onto the green itself.
“We see this accessibility work as important and will continue to promote the potential for this across the area, however at this time, sustainability, and a move to a reduction in carbon emissions is an overriding priority for many of our key community facilities.”
In other news, councillors agreed to provide £39,647 to continue the Plus Partnership approach in conjunction with Fife Council partner Fife Furniture Plus.
The core aim of the project is to increase access and support to individuals and families in the Levenmouth area to household assistance.
This work included the employment of a welfare support worker embedded with Fife Furniture Plus.
Alongside this direct support to individuals the approach supported the distribution of Big Hoose items locally, alongside the key elements of provision already available through Fife Furniture Plus. This includes a range of items of furniture but could extend to white goods, as well as a proposal that was being developed to include carpeting.
Councillors support efforts to improve educational attainment and outcomes
Members of the Levenmouth Area Committee have given their support to all staff and pupils at Levenmouth Academy as efforts to bring about further improvement continue into the new term.
On the day the schools went back after the summer holidays, councillors were given a report on educational outcomes for the 2022/23 year and heard about progress being made in the senior phase, not only in terms of improving attainment but also in terms of improving young people’s employability skills and getting them into positive destinations after the disruption of COVID.
Pupils in the Levenmouth area are more likely to live in household poverty or areas of deprivation than pupils in the rest of Fife.
That said, while attainment outcomes are generally lower than other parts of Fife, outcomes at SCQF level 5 by the end of stage S4 and SCQF level 6 by the end of stage S5 have improved significantly in the Levenmouth area.
A greater proportion of school leavers in Levenmouth entered both further education and training than the national average.
Councillors heard how the education service is particularly determined to improve attendance, which is a key factor in raising attainment; increase attainment with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy; and identify and support appropriate pathways into post-school opportunities.
Councillor Colin Davidson, convener of the Levenmouth Area Committee, said: “This report is very welcome because the biggest challenge we’ve had in this area is non-attendance and problems getting people into positive destinations once they leave school.
“We’re doing everything we can to address very difficult and long-standing issues in that respect, and our focus is on the fundamentals of getting kids into school and helping them access training and employment opportunities.
“We’re 100% behind Levenmouth Academy’s headteacher Ruth (McFarlane) and her team, and we’re going to be doing everything we can to take the school forward year-on-year.”
Levenmouth Reconnected grants
Three new projects were approved for large grant funding via the Levenmouth Reconnected Programme.
This was the subject of a separate media release/news story which you can view here.
Other reports
Councillors also considered reports on improvements at Swan and Memorial Court in Methil, and progress being made against the Area Roads Programme.
The full agenda and papers can be found on the Fife Council website: www.fife.gov.uk/kb/docs/articles/about-your-council2/politicians-and-committees/committees/area-committees/levenmouth-area-committee/meetings/levenmouth-area-committee-21-august-2024
