A PROJECT which is geared to creating a pilgrimmage route linking Lochore Meadows and Lomonds country has received key funding.

Two environmental projects in Fife have received over £45,000 of funding from the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) Development Fund to help improve access to high quality greenspace for local people.

Fife Council has been awarded £16,845 to deliver parts of the long distance Fife Pilgrimage Route in and around the settlements of Crosshill, Lochore, Balairvie and Kennoway and to link them to Lochore Meadows Country Park. The project follows a previously funded CSGN project which investigated the possible development of the long distance pathway and this phase will now implement works identified in key urban areas of the route.

Fife Council has also been awarded £28,950 to support the Core Paths and Greenspace Team, which will provide a six week programme of work experience and training for eight young unemployed people. The team will work on a range of greenspace and path improvement projects in Benarty, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy and Buckhaven.

Work will include tree planting, woodland management, path buidling and upgrading, clearance of invasive species, way-marking and interpretation. The work experience programme will then provide four of the eight candidates with the opportunity to start a six month period of employment with the Council. Welcoming the funding, Environment & Climate Change Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said, “The long-term aim of the CSGN project is to make the central belt a better place to live and work within, by delivering a high quality environment for everybody.

“The six projects that will receive funding as a result of this announcement will all have a positive impact on their surrounding communities. Added to this, some of the projects will directly provide training and employment for young, unemployed people – and this is great news given our desire to support young people into positive destinations.” Supported by Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, the CSGN Development Fund assists projects focussed on areas of deprivation and on transforming derelict land for the benefit of the community. Delivering skills training for young unemployed people and improving health are also key outcomes from the projects.

In addition to the funding announcement, local communities and businesses in Fife are also set to benefit from a strengthening of how the CSGN project is to be delivered from 1st April.

Keith Geddes, chair of the CSGN Partnership Board added, “On behalf of the wider CSGN initiative I welcome the creation of the new Central Scotland Green Network Trust which will play a fundamental role in driving forward the CSGN Vision.

“This significant extension to the CSGN Development Fund will make a considerable contribution to projects working towards improving the central belt on the ground, for the benefit of local communities, businesses and the environment.”