Cupar has been handed £1 million by the Scottish Government to help restore some of its most prominent buildings.
The old market town was successful in a bid to Historic Scotland for its Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (Cars), which will see closes and crumbling structures such as the County Buildings, Corn Exchange and YMCA done up.
The £6.8m project to halt the decay of buildings in the conservation area also aims to find new uses for abandoned buildings, such as the Burgh Chambers, and will provide repair and maintenance grants for private property owners.
It includes streetscape improvements around key junctions, such as those already proposed at Crossgate and St Catherine Street.
Jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities in traditional skills such as stonemasonry will also be created.
Although the cash is £850,000 less than Fife Council had requested, the award was hailed as fantastic news by the authority’s executive member for business, enterprise, economy and planning Kay Carrington.
She said: “The funding will allow Fife Council to protect and enhance the external fabric of our notable Cupar landmarks.
“To complement these improvements, we plan to build training into all major projects through the creation of private and public sector apprenticeships.
“All this investment will contribute to improving the appearance, attractiveness and functionality of Cupar’s town centre.”
Fife Historic Buildings Trust is working on the project with the council.
Manager Alan Lodge said: “It will have a significant impact in Cupar town centre and help repair the historic fabric of the town.
“The training element is particularly exciting and innovative, and will help create new apprenticeships in traditional building trades for local people.
“The council and the community should be proud of all the hard work it has put into secure this funding.”
Some £4.2m has already been pledged to the project by the local authority and £600,000 will be provided through private contribution.
It is anticipated the final £1m will be found from other sources. Cupar was one of 11 towns and cities to share in £10m funding announced yesterday by Scottish Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.