Work on a key part of a flagship Fife project, which will create up to 1,600 jobs, will begin this autumn after it was given planning permission.
Seven single storey business units will be constructed on land to the east of Midfield Drive at Kirkcaldy’s Dunnikier Business Park as part of the £1.3 billion Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.
A partnership of local authorities, universities, Scottish and UK Governments are working to deliver a 15-year programme to transform the regional economy.
The construction will include solar panels and a new access road with the aim of providing new small business space.
The wider Fife Industrial Innovation Investment Programme aims to create 1,000 new skilled permanent jobs in mid and south Fife and almost 600 short-term construction jobs.
Neil Crooks, convener of the Kirkcaldy area committee, said: “We know that demand in Kirkcaldy is strong for this type of unit, so the emphasis is very much on getting these ready for tenants as quickly as possible.”
Over the next two years new industrial premises will be developed across four sites in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Lochgelly and Dunfermline.
New serviced employment land in Dunfermline and Dalgety Bay will also be made available for immediate investment by new or existing businesses.
Altany Craik, convener of Fife Council’s economy, tourism. strategic planning and transportation committee, said: “This project, now on its way to becoming a reality, will be the first visible sign in Kirkcaldy of the positive changes that the City Region Deal will bring to Fife.”
