THE FUTURE of the foodbank in Cowdenbeath looks to be secured with Fife Council backing plans to give it a three-year lease.

Councillors approved the proposal at last Tuesday’s executive committee meeting and it means that the foodbank will be able to lease the Fountain Meeting Room on Broad Street for three years at a discounted rent of £300 a year.

Since the Trussel Trust-affiliated Dunfermline Foodbank expanded into the Cowdenbeath area, it has helped individuals and families all over the area. Support was first offered at the BRAG Enterprises Business Centre in Crosshill. Following the approval to redevelop the former social work office at Stenhouse Street into a community centre, the Fountain Meeting Room was identified for closure and sale and chosen as a suitable site within Cowdenbeath from which to deliver the foodbank services.

The council propose to enter into a minimum three-year lease for the property, with an option to renew. Although the market rental value of the property was agreed at £3700 per annum, the discounted rent of £300 was agreed to reflect the “wider partnership relationship and community benefit working with Dunfermline Foodbank brings”.

Apart from the reduced rental income, the report to the executive committee said there were no perceived “non-financial dis-benefits” to the proposal, which supported the wider strategic council plans to “support Fife residents in mitigating the effects of national welfare reform measures and in reducing poverty across Fife”.

The benefits include immediate occupation of the building, offering management and security and an alternative community-based use, as well as providing a wider support network by expanding into Cowdenbeath.

The report also said that members of the community would be provided with a “centralised base to receive practical emergency support and advice on their immediate and wider needs and issues”.

John Drylie, chair of Dunfermline Foodbank, said, “Everyone wants to know that the foodbank will be continuously there. We’re always happy to work with the council and have been doing that for the past few years. So it’s nice to see when things fall into place.”