A BLIGHT on the Cardenden landscape for more than a decade is set to go after a community organisation persuaded the owner to sell it to them.

The former shop on Station Road, near the village railway station, has gradually deteriorated to become an eyesore and a health worry for neighbours.

Indeed, residents living behind the shop have complained about problems with rats over the past two to three years.

The situation seemed to fall in to an impasse with Cardenden Community Council and Cowdenbeath Area Committee members wanting the problem building removed.

However, persuading the owners to move on the issue failed to produce results.

Cardenden Community Development Forum took up the issue on behalf of villagers but they too found the owners difficult to deal with, but the breakthrough has now come.

Said the Forum's David Taylor: "We managed to get in touch with the owners and they agreed to sell the building to us.

"It is only a very small former shop but it has become a massive blight at a time when we have been trying to improve all parts of the ABCD villages.

"Now that we have been able to get hold of it we can make arrangements with Fife Council to have it demolished."

That is likely to happen over the next few weeks and the immediate plan is to get the site tidied up.

Added Mr Taylor: "The immediate aim is to get this site, which has dominated the bottom of Station Road, made more attractive.

"With the path from the railway station running beside it this has not been an attractive site for visitors when they got off the train.

"What the longer term plans are we will just have to wait and see but at least if the former shop is removed it will brighten up this part of the village."

He added that discussions were ongoing about the derelict former Miners Institute building in Main Street.

The former Youth Centre has been a major eyesore at the north end of the village for years and the Development Forum hope that it may too soon go.