Plans for a new and improved Kincardine Health Centre are ready, even if funding to see it built is not.
The long-anticipated proposals made their second appearance on Fife Council’s planning portal this week.
And they reveal images of a single storey health centre with a central courtyard garden.
Communities and politicians have been pushing the case for new health centres in Kincardine and Lochgelly for years.
They claim both are out of date and not fit for purpose.
NHS Fife has also acknowledged the centres “no longer meet the needs of the local populations.”
However, while the communities have been promised new health facilities, nothing has ever happened.
And there was further disappointment last year when the Scottish Government announced funding will not be confirmed until the “second half of the decade.”
No change to funding situation
NHS Fife confirmed the funding situation hasn’t changed.
However, it wants to have plans in place so they can move quickly when money becomes available.
A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: “We remain entirely committed to the project and the submission of the new planning application helps ensure we are in the best possible position to commence the build as soon as the necessary capital funding is made available.”
The health board lodged the first planning application in October 2022 but withdrew it about six months ago.
This followed changes to planning policy.
Kincardine Health Centre will be built in park
If the planning application is approved, and if NHS Fife is able to secure the funds, the new health centre will be built in the northern corner of Kincardine’s Feregait park.
The design is described as a flexible and accessible “contemporary health and wellbeing centre for the community of Kincardine”.
According to planning papers, the concept also aims to provide “a focus on wellbeing”.
The board says it will enhance “the patient and visitor experience whilst also enhancing the daily experience of the administrative and medical staff”.
The proposal would use up approximately 20% of the park’s four hectares, which is classed in Fife’s 2010 greenspace strategy as one of the only “reasonable quality” greenspaces in Kincardine.
However, board members say it will not impact the existing sports pitches and playing fields.
And it is considering options to upgrade nearby greenspaces to offset the loss.
This will include provision of community/wildlife gardens, allotments, playpark improvements and new benches and picnic areas.
Fife Council will consider the application and make a decision in due course.
Conversation