A TRUST fund that's been "inactive" for several years and holds around £320,000 to be spent on communities in and around Crossgates is inviting applications again.

Groups and organisations can now bid for a share of the cash, around a third of which will be spent on a cycle path to Inverkeithing, which piled up while coal was being taken out of an opencast site to the south of the village.

Last year, Crossgates Community Council said many locals felt "badly let down" by the way the Muir Dean Environmental Trust had managed the fund, which was to compensate communities most affected by operations at the mine.

Fife councillors Alice McGarry and David Barratt gave an update on the fund in their quarterly newsletter.

It said: "Followings several years in limbo, the Muir Dean Environmental Trust is now operational once again and is accepting grant applications.

"To ensure equity among the communities affected by the mining works, the funds have been ring-fenced with £100,000 set aside to support a cycle path between Crossgates and Inverkeithing, £50,000 to support projects in Inverkeithing, £50,000 for Dalgety Bay and £100,000 for Crossgates.

"Groups and organisations wishing further information about the trust fund or to know how to make an application should email muirdeantrust@gmail.com."

Cllr McGarry said: "It's been two years trying to get it back on track but the trust has had a lot of bad luck.

"It's now up and running again although, because of coronavirus, there are no meetings and I'm not sure if we've had any applications in just yet.

"The criteria is quite strict as the money is mainly for environmental projects and there's still over £300,000 in there."

She added: "There's money for a cycle path between Inverkeithing and Crossgates, up the B981, which is a popular route for walkers too.

"With all the new houses that have been built, it's a much busier road than it used to be, it's not the sleepy back road it once was, so the cycle path will be a welcome addition."

The fund was set up to distribute money to improve the communities, particularly Crossgates and Fordell, most affected by operations at Muir Dean.

More than £672,000 was paid in by operating company, ATH Resources, between 2009 and 2017 before the company went into liquidation.

The fund is managed by a board of trustees but has been "largely inactive since 2017" due to difficulties created by both the loss and the resignation of trustees and also changes in local government.

Last summer, Crossgates Community Council determined to find out how much money was left.

They discovered that more than £351,000 had been awarded to groups in Inverkeithing, Crossgates, Rosyth, Dalgety Bay and Aberdour, along with the Fordell Scouts.

The community council had also said: "In relation to the setting-up, administration and awarding of funds from the Muir Dean Trust Fund, there is a perception locally among the residents of Crossgates, Mossgreen and Fordell that they have been badly let down on all levels, initially by those who set up the fund in the early years and latterly by those who have had their part in administrating and awarding the funds over the years."

Local councillor Darren Watt had said at the time: "We really need to get to the bottom of what has been going on with the fund and ensure the remaining funds are distributed, on application, to deserving causes."