HOPES of revamping Kincardine with more than £3million of improvements took a step closer this week after plans were lodged with Fife Council.

The proposals from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) request permission for environmental improvements including alterations and re-alignment of carriageway (A977 and A876), the resurfacing of public areas and the installation of street furniture in the High Street area.

They would see the arrangement of the High Street and northern approach road altered while seating and bins would be among the facilities added.

Gary Porter, the CRT's regeneration development manager, said the application was the result of consultation going back to the 2017 charrette.

He added: "One of the significant priorities which emerged was improving the activity within the village circulation and general experience and the road network between High Street, north approach and Feregait A977. That is what this started from back then.

"Since then, we have been working with funding from Sustrans since 2019. They have been funding it and it is being managed by ourselves.

"What we are are looking at is to improve the connections and networks and improve the actual travel connectivity in the village. Improving the main approach, the north approach road and the A977 and also the High Street.

"We recognise these three roads in the area are fairly significant in terms of the amount of traffic. One of the main priorities is to put more of an emphasis on people, pedestrians and cyclists and take it away from what is predominantly dominated by vehicles.

"It is roughly about a £3.5m programme. We are looking to raise about £1m of that money for a match fund which is provided by the Sustrans programme.

"We have a timescale at the moment, but we are at the planning application stage. We need to wait for that with a view to potentially starting in around autumn time."

A planning statement said the proposals could help create a sense of "gateway" to Kincardine entering from either end, especially off the Kincardine Bridge, thanks to landscape treatment and signage to roads, cycle paths and pedestrian routes.

Changes to the High Street, it added, had been designed with a "strong desire to enhance commercial activity in the town centre and make this a more community-friendly space".

This would include an improved physical appearance of the street and shop fronts; buses redirected to the north approach road; the addition of attractive seating and cycle racks; enhanced landscaping; and a shared surface for both cyclists and pedestrians.

Mr Porter said they had been keen to get community engagement throughout the planning process so far.

"We have done a number of community consultations over the last few years," he added.

"It started with the charrette and when we picked up this programme, we did quite a number of community consultations – maybe 10 or 11 during the duration of all the programmes.

"There has been quite a lot of input from local people in the area."