The council opted to redevelop the Fraser Avenue estate area of Inverkeithing after consulting with the community and has decided to demolish 234 properties, comprising 39 blocks of flats.
An options appraisal identified the need for the complete redevelopment of the area and the council advertised for a housing association partner, which could work with the existing residents and the local community to deliver a sustainable regeneration project.
After a rigorous assessment process, involving the local community, Fife Council and the Scottish Government, Kingdom Housing Association was selected as the Regeneration Delivery Partner.
Councillor Judy Hamilton, executive spokesperson (housing and building services), Fife Council, said: “Kingdom Housing Association have been through a robust process and had to demonstrate that they have the experience, track record and capacity to undertake a complex project of this nature.
“We are delighted to have them on board as a partner and look forward to working with and supporting them on the regeneration initiative for Fraser Avenue and South East Inverkeithing area.”
Bill Banks, chief executive with Kingdom, said: “We are extremely happy to have been selected as the delivery partner for this project. It provides an ideal opportunity to work directly with tenants to address the issues identified by the local community as part of the redevelopment proposals.”
Bill added: “We have worked on similar projects with Fife Council in the past and the experience gained will directly benefit the Fraser Avenue project, where housing quality, community participation, tenant choice, collaborative working and sustainability will be key objectives of the strategy.”
The Master Planning process has already been initiated and Fife Council appointed 7N Architects of Edinburgh to work with the local community to develop the master plan.
The redevelopment project will involve the rehousing of existing tenants and new homes will be provided to meet the particular needs of existing and new tenants. It will be a phased project, which is likely to take around 4 years to complete.
A number of community consultation workshops have already taken place and the latest Community Master Planning event took place on 25 March.
The housing options assessments are ongoing and plans are being progressed for the first stage rehousing programme. It is hoped the first demolitions will take place early in 2016, with a first phase new build contract starting after this has been completed. The majority of the new homes will be for rent and funding will be provided through the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme for Fife.
