COMMUNITY Payback has touched every community in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area and has had a major impact.

Councillors at Cowdenbeath Area Committee, on Wednesday, heard about the positive role of the Community Payback scheme, which gives offenders the opportunity to make amends to the local community.

The work, carried out by Community Payback Scheme participants benefits local schools, charities, and community organisations by helping with work that they would otherwise not be able to get done.

Over the last year, the scheme has helped a variety of projects ranging from individual householders to care homes. The range of work carried out on the scheme included, ground clearance, recycling projects, building maintenance and landscaping, improvements to park and community facilities, general gardening projects, painting and decorating in community centres, and individual homes, and making and repairing goods for sale in charity shops.

Team manager, Margaret Collins, gave councillors details of the projects in and around the Cowdenbeath area that benefited from the participants’ hard work.

These included the cleaning up of the church grounds at St Kenneth’s, in Benarty; large scale litter removal in parks and streets and open spaces in Cowdenbeath and Allan Park, Hill of Beath; the clean-up of Lochgelly West Primary School playground; painting and decorating projects at Broad Street Centre, in Cowdenbeath; the Corrie Centre, Cardenden; and at Hill of Beath Community Centre.

In addition litter picking had taken place at the woodland walk in Cardenden and in the community woodland at Crossgates; in Lochgelly Public Park and at North End Park, Cowdenbeath.

Councillor Willie Clarke, chair of Cowdenbeath Area Committee, welcomed the report commenting, “These teams have made a very positive contribution to our local community and it’s great to see such productive outcomes from this scheme. On behalf of the whole community, I’d like to thank them for all their hard work.” Cowdenbeath councillors, Alistair Bain and Gary Guichan, agreed that the project was making an impact in the area.

Executive spokesperson for Education, Children, Young People and Families, Councillor Bryan Poole commented, “This is an excellent example of the valuable and life-changing work that provides mutual benefit to communities and individuals who participate in the Community Payback scheme.

“The aim of Community Payback is to provide a variety of opportunities for participants to make reparation to their local community, and to help them learn and acquire new work and life skills. This project is providing people with an excellent chance to gain useful knowledge and experience and to give something back that is of real benefit to local communities.”