Trust Joins Pioneering Scottish Partnership

Publish Date: Tuesday June 23, 2020

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust (FCCT) are delighted to announce that we have formally become partners Leven SGA, the River Leven Programme, a regeneration initiative with the environment and people at its heart.

FCCT along with Network Rail, The Coal Authority, Zero Waste Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland – became partners on the one-year anniversary of the founding of the partnership.

The Programme involves many key government agencies, non-government organisations, private sector and local communities working closely together to help deliver environmental improvements in and around the River Leven in Fife, while maximising the social and economic opportunities that these improvements can bring.

Jeremy Harris, CEO FCCT commented: “FCCT is driven by the belief that our future depends on a new way of life that meets the needs of people and the natural world. The aspirations of the Leven Programme speak to this belief and the partnership brings together significant actors capable of delivering between them something truly world-changing. It is an honour to be formally joining this work and bringing our local knowledge and organisational experience to the table.”

The Leven Programme (known as The Leven) has been hailed as model for global green recovery says a global authority on innovation and sustainability. Volans, a global think tank and strategic advisory firm founded by John Elkington, the originator of the ‘triple-bottom-line’ of profit, people and planet, and advisor to major companies across the globe, has called out a pioneering Scottish partnership as a potential model for global economic recovery. The River Leven Programme, a regional regeneration partnership, pioneered by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, aims to transform an area once at the centre of Scotland’s industrial revolution, locking in sustainable, inclusive growth.

Ed Heather- Hayes, FCCT Head of Development will co-ordinate the Trust’s contribution by supporting on-the-ground delivery, community engagement, environmental and connectivity aspects of the programme, while working as part of the Board and with a number of the working groups.

Stephen Carter, OBE, Chair of Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, echoed Jeremy Harris’s enthusiasm for the programme saying: “I am thrilled to be joining this dynamic and high-powered partnership that holds so much promise for Leven and Central Fife. It is exciting to see the potential this project might have for driving change not only locally but also eventually at the national and even international level.”

The Leven Programme was established to bring together those public bodies, businesses and community representatives who want to make a positive difference to the river and the surrounding area. By improving the physical and ecological conditions of the river; creating better access to the river and between communities; as well as creating opportunities to improve people’s health, well-being and economic prospects, all partners realise that more can be achieved working together than can be achieved working in isolation.

The programme aims to be a potentially world-leading example of how organisations can collaborate to develop improvements that take environmental, social and economic factors into consideration at the beginning of any significant community regeneration development or initiative.

To find out more about ‘The Leven Programme’ visit https://www.theleven.org/ and to learn more about Volans visit https://volans.com.