Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Hard won battle of Glencraig sees victory for people power

Willie Clarke and Brian Menzies in Glencraig
Willie Clarke and Brian Menzies in Glencraig

“The separation of North and South Glencraig may never have been on the scale of East and West Berlin, but there will be great delight at this reunification, nevertheless.”

That’s the view of SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing over a decision to change the community council boundary between Benarty and Lochgelly.

After a long campaign, a 1,400 plus signature petition and public consultation which drew more than 700 votes, Fife Council’s community and housing services committee agreed to redraw the boundary so the hamlet of Glencraig was not split in half.

Benarty community council and other groups first drew the anomaly to light.

They argued Glencraig had historically and spiritually never been part of Lochgelly and that it should not be split asunder any more but should fall entirely under the jurisdication of Benarty community council.

The council decided to put the matter out to public consultation, which ran from last December until the end of January.

Out of the 745 responses, 459 were in favour of a boundary change, with 286 against.

Just over 60% of those who took part came from Benarty, 37% from Lochgelly and 2% from other places.

SNP councillor Alice McGarry said: “I think this has been one of the most interesting ones and people certainly feel passionate about it.

“I think we should just get on and make a decision.”

The committee asked officers to make the administrative changes which will only affect the community council boundary and nothing else, such as school catchments.

Former Communist councillor for the area Willie Clarke did much of the campaigning alongside Brian Menzies.

Mr Clarke said Benarty locals were elated at the decision.

“People have been stopping us in the street, saying justice has been done.

“We are very grateful to the people of Benarty who have backed us to the hilt and helped keep Glencraig in Benarty where it belongs.”

Ms Ewing welcomed the decision which recognised the strength of the case presented to restore the boundary.

“Administrative boundaries should never just be about drawing lines on a map or making the numbers fit, but everything to do with respecting the history of a place and the generations who have lived there.

“This decision is a fantastic result for people power and is entirely down to the campaign run with the support of Benarty Community Council.
“What a team Willie Clarke and Brian Menzies are.

“It really shows what can be done if you have a principled objective and are determined to succeed. I am proud to represent such folk.”