Community buildings are up for grabs in Fife.
The council is hoping interested community groups will come forward to take over the running of nine buildings.
Support from the council is on offer to groups interested in Tayport’s Burgh Chambers, Cupar’s Corn Exchange, Elie and Earlsferry Town Hall, Kirkcaldy’s Glebe Park Centre, the Gregory Hall in Tayport, St Monans Town Hall, Auchtermuchty’s Town Hall and Victoria Hall and the Victory Hall in St Andrews.
A review of the council’s estate last year determined that many community buildings were underused, no longer fit for purpose or don’t meet the needs of local people.
A maintenance backlog also means substantial costs over the next 10 years if the council were to maintain all its buildings.
Now buildings are up for grabs to groups who can demonstrate they can use them for the benefit of their community.
Community planning manager Tim Kendrick said: “The way we deliver services is always evolving.
“We’ve accumulated buildings over decades and many are no longer planned around what people need now.”
Councillors used a building audit to come up with better ways to sustain local services and facilities and identified buildings which could be sold, or used in a different way, or retained to deliver a wider range of local authority and community services.
Now the council wants to hear from local groups and organisations who might be interested in taking over any of these buildings.
Mr Kendrick added: “Reducing the number of buildings the council runs doesn’t mean closing them all.
“We have already seen some halls and centres successfully transferred to local communities that have access to funding and resources that just aren’t available to the council.”
Wanting this to continue, funds have been set aside to support community groups.
“We want to work with the local communities to develop a sustainable use of these buildings long into the future,” he said.
The council has already invested to bring together services in a number of facilities in recent years, including a new civic centre in Inverkeithing, purpose built community centres in Kelty and Benarty, integrated customer service centres and libraries in Levenmouth and new schools with community facilities in Dunfermline and Glenrothes.
Information is now online at www.fifedirect.org.uk/CAT.
