A multi-million-pound urban village will transform a historic town centre remnant of Dunfermline’s past.
Linklever Scotland has been given the go-ahead to breathe new life into the A-listed former linen damask factory and warehouse known as Pilmuir Works and St Margaret’s Works.
Under the scheme the eyesore former Dunlop and Castleblair factory sites will be transformed into housing, shops, restaurant/cafe and other units. It will be yet another step towards regenerating the area after a £17m revamp of Carnegie Leisure Centre across the narrow Pilmuir Street.
Both sites have been empty for years. When Duracord pulled out of the Pilmuir Works in 2005 it signalled the end of the town’s last link with textile weaving.
Since original planning permission to convert the Pilmuir Works where the oldest section dates from 1816 was granted four years ago the company acquired the neighbouring St Margaret’s Works.
The plans, with some alterations, now incorporate both sites. They will retain the most interesting and important historic features of the sprawling complex where the towering chimney is a local landmark and weave them into the design.
This would include adornments such as the Victorian 28-bay Italianate warehouse section which runs the length of Pilmuir Street. This would be converted into upper-floor flats and retail and leisure units on the ground floor.
Bars, restaurants or cafes will be around the southern edge of the site, along the former railway line fronting the lane which links Winterthur Lane with Pilmuir Street
A dilapidated saw-tooth weaving shed would be removed to make way for a parking courtyard surrounded by retail units on the ground floor of a new five-storey block, with flats on the upper levels.
In the original plan the northern building along Foundry Street was to be flats, and the property on the north-west, thought to be the oldest part of the site, was to become a creche and museum.
By contrast in the new plan the Foundry Street building will be a service entrance for the shopping area while the north-western building will be a non-residential institution, although no more details have been announced.
The old heart of the factory the Cousin’s Lane engine houses and boiler room will house a bike store and shop units.
Council officers felt the proposal offered a chance to resurrect a dilapidated building which was key to the development of Dunfermline’s linen industry and represented a fine example of a 19th-century mill complex in the heart of the town.
Council planner Angus Dodds said: ”The building is category A-listed and it is considered that any commercially sustainable development that allows its built fabric to survive is supported by council policy as it will safeguarded the future of a nationally important building.”
He added that the proposal had not attracted a significant level of objection and would mean more people living near the town centre, increasing the vitality of the area because of its mixture of uses.
Mr Dodds said: ”Given the overall benefits of the proposal our recommendation is to approve, subject to conditions.”
Councillors agreed to approve the plans, subject to conditions including a contribution from the developers of £135,000 towards improving public transport in the town centre and additional funding for local education facilities.