Councillors in Glenrothes have stated their determination to tackle deprivation and inequality in the town.
Members of the Glenrothes area committee have agreed to attend a “workshop” event to formulate a strategy to identify and tackle problems that affect hundreds of residents.
It comes after elected officials criticised a council-prepared document that they felt did not suitably reflect the challenges and needs of the people of the town.
Instead, members will meet to develop their own ideas to be part of a Local Community Action Plan to tackle deprivation in Glenrothes and the wider area.
Disappointed at the length of time it was taking to formulate a strategy, Councillor Peter Grant said: “About six weeks ago I had a dream that, as a council in June, we would agree on a local community plan.
“I thought that today we would finalise this but what we have is the start of a plan and we are slipping far behind.
“This is possibly the most important piece of work that this committee can do but we might as well defer and wait for months and months. If we stop and think about the problems then what we have now does not take us any further forward.”
According to a report prepared for councillors ahead of the meeting, six areas Cadham, Auchmuty East and Auchmuty West, Collydean South, Leslie West and Macedonia East all fall within the 20% most health deprived in Fife resulting in hundreds of alcohol and drug-related hospital visits.
Employment deprivation has also increased from 3,935 in 2009 to 4,525 people 14.5% of the local population in 2012. However, income deprivation has seen a slight decrease over the same three-year spell, down from 8,255 residents to 7,925.
Data presented to councillors show that in comparison to the Fife average, hospital admissions are higher, as are emergency admissions and smoking rates during pregnancy.
Literacy rates have also been highlighted as an area requiring attention, as are levels of youth offending.
Some councillors felt the information available to them was not detailed enough, however, with Glenrothes West and Kinglassie representative Altany Craik saying: “I was surprised not to see anything about housing.
“Glenrothes is a homelessness black spot and housing is a major issue and I would have expected to see something on that.
“I would like to see monthly homelessness figures. If we do it quarterly then you get a drift and this is something that we want to get on top of.”
Any strategy to tackle deprivation in Glenrothes will be carried out against a backdrop of slashed budgets and increasing demand for assistance. Prior to their discussion, members of the committee had received a presentation from Davie Nelson, chairman of the Auchmuty and Dovecot Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, who warned that changes to the benefits system and the current economic climate were having a huge impact on many residents.
Referring to this in his summary, Mr Grant said that while Glenrothes has many positive aspects, time is of the essence in helping those residents who have fallen on hard times.
“This town has a lot of advantages and we have had no reference to these,” he said. “I look forward to the day that this plan starts to deliver and I am bitterly disappointed that it is not happening now.
“We need action and not rhetoric and while we do this a lot of people have been driven to despair.”