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* [http://www.oldlochgelly.co.uk Pictures of Lochgelly Past & Present]
* [http://www.oldlochgelly.co.uk Pictures of Lochgelly Past & Present]
* [http://www.myspace.com/rubberstamppromotions Rubber Stamp Promotions] Page for info on Lochgelly Live Music
* [http://www.myspace.com/rubberstamppromotions Rubber Stamp Promotions] Page for info on Lochgelly Live Music
* [http://ssa.nls.uk/search.cfm?search_sort_order=Film.dateRelease%2CFilm.name&search_sort_direction=ASC&search_term=lochgelly&search_fields=2&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes&videos_only=1&search_mode=Advanced&submit=Search+%3E%3E%3E National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE] (selection of archive films relating to Lochgelly)


[[Category:Towns in Fife]]
[[Category:Towns in Fife]]

Revision as of 14:04, 6 October 2011

Lochgelly
Lochgelly in November 2008
Population6,834 
OS grid referenceNT186936
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Postcode districtKY5
Dialling code01592
List of places
UK
Scotland

Lochgelly (listenⓘ; Gaelic: Loch Gheallaidh) is a town in Fife, Scotland. It is located between Lochs Ore and Gelly [1] to the north-west and south-east respectively. It is separated from Cowdenbeath by the village of Lumphinnans. According to the 2007 population estimate, the town has a population of 6,834.[2]

History

From the 1830s until the 1960s Lochgelly was a mining town.[1] With the industry now dead the town has slipped into economic and social deprivation as with other former mining towns. Lochgelly is now classed as town in need of regeneration "economically and socially" and has the cheapest average home price in Britain.[3][needs update]

Lochgelly is also the home of the most reputed firm, John Dick (Saddlers), that produced tawses and was hence a synonym for that typically Scottish device for corporal punishment.

Lochgelly, as part of the old parliamentary constituency of West Fife, was known as "Little Moscow" up to the 1950s owing to its Communist political leanings.

An area of Lochgelly was known as the Happy Lands[4] and is referenced in the Scottish folk song 'The Kelty Clippie'.[5]

The town is served by Lochgelly railway station on the line between Edinburgh and Markinch.

Gelly Loch

The town derives its name from the nearby body of water, Loch Gelly. The name comes from the Gaelic Loch Gheallaidh which, loosely translated, means ‘Shining Waters’ or ‘Loch of Brightness’. Land around the loch is owned by Wemyss 1952 Trustees.[6]

The loch was once a very popular spot for the local community and was used on a regular basis for water skiing up until the early 90s. Since then the loch has not been used for water sports.

Entertainment

Lochgelly used to be served in the entertainment sector by the Lochgelly Centre, which had a 424-seat theatre that was ideal for community theatre groups, dance groups and music events. However the Lochgelly Centre is now closed in 2010 for remodelling/refurbishment work, leaving Lochgelly without any access to children's facilities, elderly facilities, community access to various events and classes.

The town is also entertained by Lochgelly Town Hall, which is now establishing itself as a venue for live music. Rubber Stamp Promotions hold regular events at the venue, with bands such as The Vivians and Sergeant playing there in 2009.

Sport

Football

Lochgelly is home to the junior football club Lochgelly Albert F.C. Former clubs include Lochgelly United F.C. who played in the senior leagues between 1890 and 1928 and Lochgelly Violet.

Community organisations

To tackle issues of multiple deprivation in the town various organisations such as the Coalfields Regeneration Trust have been given funding monies to distribute locally via community based groups such as social enterprises, charities and voluntary groups.[7]

The Lochgelly Community Council holds monthly meetings to discuss issues affecting Lochgelly, from planning issues to general issues representative of the local community. All meetings are open to the public, and provide the local citizens an opportunity to represent their views to the local council. The Community Council is made up of local members of the Lochgelly Community and also include local politicians in attendance from the SNP (Ian Chisolm) and Labour (Mark Hood). Monthly minutes from the meetings are available in the Lochgelly Library.

Meeting of the Community Council are held on every 2nd Wednesday of the month and are open to the members of the public to come along and ask questions or raise any issues, as the Community Council is there to serve the needs of the local community.

The Lochgelly Community Development Forum (LCDF), until early 2011 known as the Lochgelly Community Regeneration Forum, is a voluntary group representing the interests of the local community and providing a forum for raising local issues with Fife Council. The LCDF publish a 2 sided glossy newsletter, The Voice, which is delivered to every home in Lochgelly. This replaced a full magazine, designed for free by a locally based not-for-profit Social Enterprise (Subliminal Directions), now closed.

Mooth O the Yooth, is a local non-profit group, managed by and for local youths, with support from Fife Council workers, community wardens and community police officers. The 'Moothies' aim to provide and set up activities for other youths in the area. Activities and successes include arranging the 'Bairns Ball' (a youth disco), which is held on a monthly basis in Lochgelly. The Moothies obtained a Youth Shelter (an open steel construction, similar to a bus shelter, with a seating area and roof to provide some shelter), located at the bottom of Lochgelly Public Park.

In January 2010 'Loch of Shining Waters', an online not-for-profit community platform, was launched. It allows members of the local community to publish articles about Lochgelly, raise issues of concern and find out more about local issues. The aim is to release all material under a Creative Commons Licence, provide information about Lochgelly and the issues affecting the town and provide tutorials covering a wide range of technologies, such as using open source scripts for gaining a web presence, as well as articles on computer and online safety.

Future Development

In 2010 Lochgelly participated in the Lochgelly Charrette, led by designer Andrés Duany. The Lochgelly Charrette was the only charrette in Scotland to be led by the local authority.[8]

The Charrette process has identified areas in need of regeneration within the town centre and aims to improve the central area of Lochgelly by regenerating existing walkways and buildings. It included a review of all design based policies, simplifying the mechanisms to achieve good design for planning zones, cross departmental working with the transportation services so proposals can work towards the Scottish Government policy statement 'Designing for Streets'.[9]

There has been much local criticism of the Lochgelly Charrette[10]. It received criticisms from the Community Council and the Lochgelly Development Forum for ignoring them on specific issues. There were objections to the halting of plans for a supermarket with petrol station in favour of plans for a smaller store objected.[11][12] There was also criticism of the removal of Lochgelly Golf Course and other green areas for housing developments.[13]

Further plans include completely redeveloping the town centre to improve access and better integrate walkways. The plan will take until 2066 to be fully realised.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Overview of Lochgelly". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  2. ^ "Population Estimates for Towns and Villages in Fife" (PDF). Fife Council. 2008. Retrieved 2009-09-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) [dead link]
  3. ^ "First-time buyers face price woe". BBC News. 2005-01-22. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  4. ^ Happy Lands Memories - http://lochgelly3.tripod.com/id4.html
  5. ^ The Kelty Clippie Lyrics - http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/singasang/kelty_clippie.htm
  6. ^ FOI Request - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/who_owns_lochgelly_loch
  7. ^ "Bridging the Gap Case Study". Coalfields Regeneration Trust. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  8. ^ Official Lochgelly Charrette site - http://www.scotlandcharrettelochgelly.co.uk
  9. ^ Article on Lochgelly Charrette - http://www.s1dalgetybay.com/news/planning-for-the-future-after-lochgelly-charette.html
  10. ^ Public views of the Lochgelly Charrette sourced from many sites - http://lochgelly.org.uk/2010/03/lochgelly-charrette-your-views/
  11. ^ Various views on the support supermarket both from local non-profits, community members, and the LCDF - http://lochgelly.org.uk/category/supermarket/
  12. ^ Planning application for small store and public objections - http://planning.fife.gov.uk/online/applicationComments.do?action=showComments&caseNo=09/01361/WOPP
  13. ^ Golf course sell out - http://www.s1lochgelly.com/news/golf-course-sell-out.html
  14. ^ PDF file containing the official final report of the Lochgelly Charrette - http://lochgelly.org.uk/?file_id=10
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