Fife Council was accused of selling the Meedies short in the wake of its decision to press on with a new £1 million visitor centre.
Cowdenbeath MSP Annabelle Ewing hit out at Tuesday’s decision to award the contract for the centre and a golf clubhouse and pavilion in Lochore Meadows Country Park despite significant public opposition.
However, council leader David Ross defended the determination to start work on both facilities under a joint £1.8m contract, stating it would be wrong to throw everything up in the air at an advanced stage.
Opinion is divided over the visitor centre – with criticism of its design and the failure to source additional external funding.
Benarty Community Forum and Lochore Meadows Panel had called for a halt so a better venue could created for the park, which attracts 500,000 visitors a year.
Mrs Ewing said: “The people of Benarty have been badly let down by Fife Council.
“Even the leader of the council has admitted the consultation was flawed and his failure to engage in a meaningful way tells the people of Benarty everything they need to know about this Labour-led Fife Council.
“Local democracy is ill-served by the dismissal of significant local concern with weasel words and talk of splits.
“Fife Council have sold the Meedies and the people of Benarty short.
Mr Ross said: “This is a significant investment of £1.8m in Lochore Meadows that will provide a modern, fit for purpose, visitor centre and an integrated golf clubhouse and changing pavilion.
“As was reported at the executive committee on Tuesday, to pull back from this proposal now would incur significant additional costs without the prospect of anything better being put in place.
“I have been disappointed by the level of Annabelle Ewing’s hostility to this project, but recognise that the SNP members of Fife Council voted against investment in the Meadows at the budget meeting last February.
“I have said all along that the consultation on the project could have been better, and this is why we’ve asked the council’s scrutiny committee to look at how it was carried out.
“But opinion in the communities surrounding Lochore is divided and not universally against the project as Annabelle Ewing would have us believe.
“I recognise others have a different view, but I believe that this investment will be good for the park and it would be wrong to throw things up in the air again at this stage.”
The council’s executive committee was warned that delays could increase costs by more than £300,000, including the loss of an £83,000 grant from sportscotland for the clubhouse.
A bar was also placed on calling in the decision for further scrutiny, although the matter will be referred to a committee to “learn any lessons” from the episode.
Lochore Meadows Panel, which fought for a fresh start on the centre project, said it was gutted by the council’s decision to press on regardless.
A spokesperson said: “Fife Council could have addressed the righteous anger of local communities at being completely excluded from the funding, design and planning process for the new centre by apologising and making a fresh start which put the the community at its heart.
“Instead it stuck two fingers up at one of Fife’s most engaged and deprived communities.”
A further public meeting is being held by the panel in Lochore Miners’ Institute on Tuesday at 7pm.
