Fife College has taken the first step in the process to secure planning consent for its planned new £90 million Dunfermline campus.
It has picked the Shepherd Offshore site on Dunlin Drive — disappointing many local politicians and companies who campaigned for a town centre location.
With news the college has submitted a formal proposal of application notice to Fife Council which kicks off a 12-week consultation period, the town centre option is now effectively dead in the water
.
The news follows the college’s announcement last March that it had secured the option to purchase land to build the new campus, which is part of a wider strategy for the college to improve its estates throughout the kingdom.
In April the College also announced that it had appointed a project team to oversee the new development.
Since securing the option to purchase the land the college has also been working with their advisors to develop what they called “exciting and innovative” proposals which will meet the needs of learners now and into the future.
The submission of the PAN brings the creation of a new campus to replace the existing Halbeath site one step closer.
College principal Hugh Logan said: “We are delighted to see the notification of our intention to submit an application for planning permission in principle submitted.
“This is an important step in the creation of our new campus.
“As part of the planning application process we will begin a period of consultation with the local and wider community, along with our students and staff, to inform people about our proposals and gather views which will be considered to shape the planning application.”
An outline business case for the planned campus was approved by the Scottish Funding Council last year and a full business case for the use of the site for the college build is due to be considered later this year.
The total cost of the new campus is expected to be around £90m, with £70m funded via the Scottish Government’s NPD programme and the rest from SFC and college resources.
Mr Logan added: “Our continued staff engagement, improvement of estates and work with partners, businesses and the community across the kingdom will be our priority as we move forward to continue to create a great college for Fife.”
To register an interest in finding out more about the consultation email BuildingBrighterFutures@fife.ac.uk or visit www.fife.ac.uk.
