As Fife College appoints a project director to builds its new Dunfermline campus, an MP’s impassioned plea to locate in the town centre has been revealed.
Fife College has appointed St Andrews man Ian Simpson, 46, to oversee the development.
His appointment comes after a substantial review of the college’s buildings and estates which found that some buildings, including the Dunfermline campus at Halbeath, were no longer meeting the objectives of its strategic plan.
It reached the conclusion that a new purpose-built building was needed.
The new campus is expected to be completed by summer 2019 as yet no decision has been confirmed regarding a location for the build.
But a group of local politicians and representatives of the business community are urging the college to move its base into the heart of the town centre, to give it a much needed boost.
Now local MP Douglas Chapman has written an open letter to all Fife College board members asking them to seriously consider re-siting the college at the heart of Scotland’s ancient capital.
He said, as previously reported in The Courier, the area committee chairwoman Helen Law, local MSP Cara Hilton and SNP councillor Neale Hanvey were all of the same view that the town would benefit hugely from the college being in a central location.
The SNP MP revealed he had since met with college principal Hugh Logan and suggested the open letter to ask them to look at the facts and figures being put before them in the run-up to their final decision.
“However, bringing an extra 2,000 people into the heart of Dunfermline every day of the week must be good for traders and the overall vibrancy of the town,” he said.
Mr Chapman said one of the most frustrating issues was that the board’s information was private.
In his letter he stated: “Your decision will affect the town not just for your term of office as a board member but for generations into the future.
“That’s why I am asking you to look more intensely at the information that had been provided to you with a fresh eye and consider the impact a town centre location might have on student accessibility to the college and how being at the centre of Dunfermline life will help enhance the learning experience for students and staff alike.”