Fife’s East Neuk has been neglected in the Tay Cities Deal to bring £1.84 billion of investment, it is alleged.
Key components of the bid in the kingdom include development of the University of St Andrews’ Eden Campus, in Guardbridge, strategic growth of Cupar and a feasibility study of a rail connection for Newburgh and Oudenarde.
It is also proposed to develop marine tourism facilities at Newburgh, Tayport and St Andrews.
East Neuk councillors asked what was in it for their constituency, as an update was given on the bid, and were told it would benefit from region-wide projects including tourism development and better digital connectivity.
Conservative councillor for the area Linda Holt said she was “extremely disappointed” that the East Neuk “seems to be left out”.
She said: “I appreciate there will be some ripple effect but there doesn’t seem to be any projects for the East Neuk.
“All we are getting is enhancement of things that are already happening. The Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther is a national museum and it doesn’t get enough attention.
“This was a prime opportunity to do something for them. I wonder why the East Neuk was left out in the planning process and it seems to be me it’s too late get it in.”
Fife Council business and employability senior manager Gordon Mole said: “We recognise that for the cities deal to be judged a success the economic benefits need to be felt across the whole region, not just in parts of it.
“The two governments are seeking to fund items which in their view will best support economic growth.”
He added: “For the East Neuk, the key area of focus will be the further development of regional tourism propositions through the local tourist association.
“Work has already been undertaken to develop the East Neuk digital app and we need to make sure that it is marketed at a national level through VisitScotland. This will be an added source of information for visitors to the area.
“The key challenge we have for Tay Cities is to convert day visitors into stay visitors, which has a much larger economic impact.”
He also said work would be undertaken to ensure 4G mobile coverage and superfast broadband for the area, which suffers from poor connection.
