News from City of Dunfermline Area Committee

Area Roads Programme 2024/25

Committee has given the green light for improvements and repairs to Dunfermline’s roads and pavements worth just over £1.4million.

Amongst the work planned for 2024/25 are:

• road resurfacing works
• A994 -  Cairneyhill east to Crossford west - £504,160
• A907 – Halbeath Road from Cherrybank to railway bridge - £244,560
• footpath resurfacing works
• Halbeath Road from Dalcross Way to Strathmore Drive - £127,845

Cllr Calder commented: “Residents of Dunfermline have told us how important it is to get our roads and footpaths repaired and we’re spending more that £1.4million doing just that.  This programme of works will improve the journeys of road users and pedestrians across the area.”

Local Economic Profile 2022

Councillors heard Dunfermline’s continuing to perform well against other parts of Fife and Scotland as a whole. Dunfermline has a thriving economy, the highest average earnings and the lowest economic inactivity in Fife.

Here are some of the report highlights for Dunfermline:

• The level of economic inactivity (ie the proportion of the working age (16-64yrs) population neither in work nor actively seeking work) is 17.6%, which is the lowest in Fife and significantly lower than the Scottish average (22.6%).
• The percentage of 16-19-year-olds participating in education, training or employment is the second highest in Fife 94.5%.
• The average earnings of people living in the area are the highest in Fife £709.10 per week and are higher than the Scottish average (£702.40)
• The number of jobs in the Dunfermline area increased by 6.9% from 29,000 to 31,000 in the 3-year period between September 2019 and September 2022.
• The number of people visiting the Dunfermline Area during 2022 increased by 50.9% compared with the previous year, with visitor numbers returning to 97.7% of the 2019 pre-pandemic level.

Councillor James Calder, Committee Convener said “Earlier this year, Dunfermline was ranked the UK’s best city to live and work in and this economic report backs up how well Dunfermline’s doing.

"We’re investing £millions into Dunfermline making sure there are opportunities for everyone in the area to thrive and reach their full potential.

“This success isn’t solely down to the Council, we’ve a strong community of businesses, organisations and community groups all pulling together to make Dunfermline a city we can be proud of.”

Budget Requests
Local Community Planning Budget (Anti-Poverty Budget)

Health and Social Care Partnership, The Well - Link worker - £20,574.50
The part-time Link worker will be responsible for working with local partners to identify additional venues in Dunfermline as well as linking with the foodbank/food pantries in Dunfermline to provide health and social care health to those attending.

Tackling Poverty and Preventing Crisis - £64,000

1. Welfare Support Assistant - £11,805.34
2. Anti-Poverty Support Officer - £32,402.70
3. Community Education Worker - £7,085.99
4. Community Food Tutor – £12,516.97

The continuation of additional anti-poverty staff is vital in our ongoing work tackling poverty and preventing crisis and will allow for the development of new projects across the city.

Cllr James Calder welcomed these budget requests saying: “There’s so much work happening across Dunfermline helping people with many aspects of their daily life.

“Funding these jobs ensures we’re helping people in our community, when and where it’s most needed.”