The biggest investment in sport in North East Fife in recent years is about to get under way.
Howe of Fife Rugby Club and a Fife development company have signed the contract for a new sports pavilion.
The £1.4 million project, which will provide new changing facilities, meeting rooms and catering facilities, will be built at Duffus Park, Cupar, on the site of the present Howe of Fife grandstand.
Howe president Murdo Fraser said: “We have been fundraising and planning this for years and I am delighted to report that at long last it is now going to happen.”
He added that the work would start on site within the next week or so, with the contract expected to be completed within 30 weeks.
He confirmed the construction would not interfere with the playing programme of the club, with the pitches unaffected and temporary changing facilities had been secured nearby.
“Any temporary inconvenience will be worth it as the new pavilion will provide 21st Century facilities not just for the rugby club and followers but for other sportspeople who use Duffus Park,” he said.
The funding for the new pavilion has come from a number of sources with Fife Council, sportscotland, the Scottish Rugby Union, the DC Thomson Family Trust and the Robertson Trust all providing major backing.
The project has also received invaluable support from a number of local trusts and individuals including the Bruce Trust, the Miss AM Pilkington Trust and John and Margaret Cameron.
Mr Fraser added that the project would not have reached this milestone without the help it had received from Maureen Burgess of Fife Voluntary Action.
He also pointed out that club members had raised more than £100,000 from a range of events.
Those behind the community sports hub have said it has the potential to increase participation in a wide range of sports by people of all ages and abilities.
The new pavilion would replace the Howe of Fife Rugby Club building in Provost Wynd, and would cater for the increased demand for youth rugby from around 300 children.
However, a variety of users including football and hockey players would benefit and a “big advantage” of the proposed facility was that it would provide somewhere for parents to go and enjoy a cup of coffee while their children are playing sport.