A decision will be taken on Wednesday by local councillors to grant £350,000 towards the cost of a 3G pitch plus ancillary assets at one of the above venues.
Irrespective on what your viewpoint is on synthetic surfaces, the bottom line is that 1 of the above 2 venues will be developed giving a badly needed sporting facility to this area.
My particular favoured site is Bayview.
If you have an opinion on where you would like to see this particular facility sited, can I ask that you send an immediate e-mail to efmeditor@fifetoday.co.uk for publication in the EF Mail on Wednesday.
Bayview has most of the facilities in place and has the support of both EF Ladies
and also the Academy.
Lets give this our best shot.

Here is an article which appeared recently in the Courier regarding the bid for Bayview to be the appropriate venue.
Perhaps worryingly Councillor Hunter has announced that KG5 is his preferred site.


East Fife’s Bayview Stadium could soon be home to a new artificial pitch for use by the community, if local campaigners get their way.

Fifers For The Community (FFTC) has presented Fife Council with a bid for £350,000 plus matched funding that will allow the grass at the Methil ground to be replaced with a 3G Fifa-approved surface.

Those behind the project, which has been supported by the club, plan to manage the facility using a model similar to that used by Edinburgh club Spartans.

The plan is expected to cost around £567,000, meaning council funding could be crucial in pushing it towards the finish line.

Allan Duthie, chairman of FFTC, said: “The pitch will be situated at Bayview and would be the first phase of a project which in the future will incorporate a standalone community building offering a focus for individuals, organisations and charity groups in the area.

“Everyone we have spoken to has given us full support and encouragement to deliver this facility, which will benefit the whole community.

“Most encouraging is the 100% support we have received from the East Fife Youth Academy and East Fife Ladies.”

He continued: “As we develop, FFTC will be able to support the academy’s efforts as well as our own projects.”

Detailed and costed plans have been drawn up and have been submitted to Fife Council, although the FFTC bid faces competition from another campaign to site a similar community facility at King George V Park in Leven.

But Mr Duthie said: “While that bid may offer a similar playing surface, we feel that Bayview is the most suitable venue due to ample car parking at the stadium, the surrounding business park and its ideal location for vehicular and public transport.

“The existing perimeter walls provide excellent security and the existing floodlighting and ground sub-base allow for a more cost effective delivery of the facility.”

However, local councillor Alistair Hunter is one of those who favours the King George V bid, and hopes that will win what appears to be a two-horse race.

“We appreciate the sense of the East Fife bid, but feel strongly that the King George V Park option is the strongest bid for Levenmouth because it offers the whole community a multi-sport facility,” he said.

Backing King George V, 100%

Why?

EFFC will not receive any funds from Fife Council. The bid for funding has been made by Fifers For The Community which is a group currently awaiting approval as a registered charity.
FFTC will manage all pitch and related activities. FFTC will pay EFFC rent for the ground the pitch is on but EFFC will pay FFTC to hire the pitch for training and matches.
Over a year EFFC will use 8% of the total hire hours available. The balance will be available for hire by all teams,groups,clubs and individuals in the community.
It should be added that EFFC have given FFTC every help in preparing the bid and have agreed to all facilities except the changing rooms being available for community use.

free artificial pitch. no annual upkeep costs for EF. they would also get rent for the 92% of the time they are not using it. council invests and EF benefits.

The payment of ground rental to EFFC is a cost which is factored into the FFTC budget and is advantageous when the KGV alternative will incur cost for boundary walls/fencing,lighting etc which is already in place at Bayview.
FFTC generate a nett gain from the ground rental versus pitch hire transaction and that is clearly shown in our bid to Fife Council.
Maybe your concerns should be directed at the much more expensive KGV facility.

I would back the FFTC bid at least the pitch will be enclosed and secure. Free from dog crap and and other community activities with little relevance to sports

How many east fife fans would entrust several hundred £k to a limited company owned by Neil rankine when he already has the surrounding land. The public money isn't potentially going to him directly, but the lease depends on him keeping east fife in existence. Bear in mind that east fifes financial planning was once described as "pattern of considerable losses only being averted by the luck of a good cup draw".

Obviously you have little knowledge of FFTC plans or you are anything but objective- Probably you have a vested interest in George V plan

It`s just been announced that it is at Bayview!!

Disappointed if that's true. Saying goodbye to one the best playing surfaces in Scotland and leaving this government funded project in the hands of the mysterious owners of the club. This has disaster written all over it and it should be at King George.

Great news for both the club and community.
Bayview will be a hub for sport at all ages and levels which can only be of benefit to all parties. A huge thanks to everyone involved in this successful bid.

Good stuff!! And maybe some additional land adjacent to the football park can be acquired at an inflated price from the recent anonymous buyers. Did they see this coming???????

mixed feelings on artificial pitches just hope this has been thought out properly and does not kick the club in the butt later.

Spartans, Annan, Clyde, Airdrieonians, Stenhousemuir, Forfar, Brechin, Montrose, Alloa grounds have this surface and hasn't yet kick them in the but yet even though montrose had to raise money to re-surface their astroturf but this is a great thing for us in this league, Annandale is a prime example of a club, as its part of the community since joining the league and they make good use of their stadium for youths and first team and community football on their surface. Welcome to 2015 people, playing on grass in the lower leagues of scotland is a thing of the past and all weather surface is the new generations even at this time of year when its cold and so many call offs due to frozen pitches helps the club when astroturf is fitted.
KG 5th park is an open space park open to the public huge risk there unless its for the enclosed area for the women's and Leven united both should benefit from the playing surface. I mind Savoy park had a wee astroturf arena outside the pavilion if its still there look how that lasted by the council, no one looking after this or even those instead the pavilion.

With kirkland high school no going to be with us after they build one big high school at buckhaven, the astroturf pitch at kirkland would be a option kept as well for the community and future but i wonder what they will do to the building once its no longer a school for bairns.

I do not disagree that it will bring the club towards the loacl community[hopefully]. I am not trying to be pessimistic but just hope that all of the contract is set out correctly and there will be no hidden parts.
I hope that the increased use of the facilities at the club will bring a bit more support to the club. It is okay to say that this could or that could happen, you have to get the marketting correct to get the opportunity to work.

Looks like there are afew miffed councillors out there!!





East Fife FC could be playing on a plastic pitch from as early as next season, after campaigners won a bid for funding.

Fifers For The Community (FFTC) has been awarded £350,000 by Fife Council. Local councillors backed its proposal over a rival bid by Levenmouth Sports Village for a 3G pitch at King George V Park in Leven.

While the Fifa-approved surface at New Bayview will be for community use, the League Two side will use it for home matches and training.

FFTC said it is delighted that the Levenmouth area committee voted by four votes to three to give it the money.

However, Levenmouth Sports Village is bitterly disappointed by the decision and accused councillors of a lack of ambition and a “reckless disregard” for the financial risk to public money.

The decision followed an intense grilling of FFTC members by councillor David Alexander, who backed the other bid.

He expressed concerns about the group’s links with East Fife, its financial arrangements and the amount of time the community would be able to use the pitch.

FFTC will have to lease the land from the Bayview club, which, in turn, will pay the group to hire time on the pitch.

“Who owns East Fife?” Mr Alexander said. “If East Fife goes into administration, everything falls apart.”

He added that the football club and associated groups would take up 40% of the pitch’s usage.

Allan Duthie from FFTC moved to assure the committee the charity was separate from the club and had approval from charity watchdog OSCR.

“The land will be available as long as East Fife is available,” he said.

“There’s no reason to think East Fife won’t be around in 15 or 20 years.”

Councillors who backed the group’s bid praised the links with East Fife, saying the fact the club was guaranteed to use the pitch made the project more sustainable.

Mr Duthie said the funding award was just the start of the project.

“We’re very pleased with the outcome,” he said. “We now need to decide if we can get everything in place to start relaying the pitch by May so it’s in place for the start of the season in July.”

Councillor Ally Hunter, who represented Levenmouth Sports Village, said: “Four councillors voted against a plan that contained access to more sports, more participation, more value for money, more capacity, more external investment in Levenmouth and more community involvement than the other bid, with a significantly lower financial long-term risk.”

Well done all involved

Well done to all those involved.

Poor show from the SNP councillors. Credit should be given to Labour for supporting the bid.

I hope Levenmouth Sports Village are entitled to an appeal for this truly absurd decision. The only people who will be able to benefit from this are East Fife FC and people who happen to play football. So much "For the community" eh?

This funding is not going to EFFC. It is going to a local community group who will lease the ground for the pitch from EFFC who will in turn pay rent to the group to use the artificial pitch.

Imo I think the 3g pitch at Bayview is a great idea,of course people who actually play football will benefit from it as it is a FOOTBALL pitch,having it else where I think would be a bad idea as Bayview is fully enclosed and has security cameras in place to monitor the place...King George is open space which would led to damage from the idiots who ruin everything else.