A MULTI-USE route for cyclists, walkers and horse riders which will connect Crossgates with the Fife coast is being constructed as part of a £1.5 million investment.

Three new paths have been approved by Fife Council which they say is designed keep users away from fast-moving traffic, allowing safer passage between communities.

The pathways will link Crossgates and Fordell Firs, then on to Dalgety Bay; Kinghorn and Burntisland – part of National Cycle Route 76; and Thornton to Glenrothes, which is part of National Cycle Route 766.

Between Crossgates and Fordell Firs the three-metres wide pedestrian, cyclist and equestrian path will follow the line of the B981 road, a distance of approximately three kilometres.

The new path will link up to the existing multi-use track from Hillend and Dalgety Bay.

From Dalgety Bay there are links to the National Cycle Network at the shoreline, and west to Inverkeithing.

The route also links to Dunfermline via the Aberdour Road cycle track across the M90.

This part of the project will cost £535,000.

Altany Craik, Fife Council's convener of the economy, tourism, strategic planning and transportation committee, said: "All these projects are due to be completed by late Spring this year.

"These are popular routes that will improve access for commuters and visitors.

"Linking up more of the national network routes across Fife will help active travel between communities, improve access to rural roads and lanes, and link up the core path network."