Large Scale Partnership
A series of connected projects along the River Leven in Fife, which have the environment, heritage and people at their heart.
About the Leven Programme
The Leven Programme was formed in 2018 to bring together those public bodies, businesses and community representatives who want to make a positive difference to the river and its surrounding areas.
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 alone.
The vision is that by 2030, the partnership will have contributed to, and delivered a number of projects that will have helped to breathe life back into the River Leven, improving the areas surrounding it and making them great places to live, work and visit.
Green Action Trust is leading on a range of projects and collaborating with wider stakeholders and communities to develop these and secure delivery funds.
What is being achieved
The Leven Programme is delivering multiple outcomes across a range of interconnected projects. These tie in closely to all six areas of our work in environmental regeneration.
Green Action Trust is a founding partner of the Leven Programme and has been instrumental in identifying and developing partnership projects to transform the River Leven and its surrounding setting for the benefit of the environment, heritage and communities.
From our early involvement, the ambition and opportunities for the Leven Programme has grown and we now have a dedicated team providing strategic partnership support, funding development, programme and project management, alongside community engagement, communication, and monitoring and evaluation roles.
Project delivery
Our role as a partner means we are supporting the development of the Leven Programme as a whole. However, we also have a role leading the delivery on several of the interconnected projects.
The Connectivity Project will develop and deliver 11km of active travel paths and routes to connect communities, the river and the new railway stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven.
Following the wider visioning and masterplanning work in 2018-19, concept designs were produced for developing an active travel network. Fife Council is leading on developing existing transport infrastructure, while the the new River Park Routes are led by Green Action Trust.
Subsequent engagement, behaviour change, communications and monitoring and evaluation work has led to the creation of actions plans and logic models to develop the project in parallel with the designs. This led to a successful bid to Sustrans for funding.
The design stage commenced in August 2022 and continues to November 2024. The delivery and construction stage will be phased and is due to commence in 2024.
As part of progressing the Leven Programme’s River Leven masterplan, Green Action Trust and partners secured almost £250,000 funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) plus additional match funds to develop the River Park Project during 2023.
We are leading on the development of this project, in partnership with Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Fife Council, NHS Fife, Historic Environment Scotland, SEPA, and our Community Steering Group, led by Coalfields Regeneration Trust. A suite of consultants provide additional capacity and specialist skills or knowledge.
During the development phase, proposals for a four year delivery phase will be scoped, researched and refined. Co-design and engagement with Levenmouth communities is a key aspect of this development phase.
In 2024, proposals will be submitted to NLHF as part of a Delivery Phase funding application. Subject to securing NLHF and match funding, the River Park Project will commence delivery during 2024.
As part of the River Park Project, we have been developing designs for a Nature Network along the River Leven.
This nature-based solution will help to restore and expand biodiversity, and provide people with multifunctional greenspace where they can connect with nature.
Along with enhancing biodiversity, aims of the Nature Network include:
To develop the concept, we commissioned a Nature Network vision for the whole River Park area. Explore the StoryMap to find out more.
From feasibility studies to forests, grant management to greenspace, we can help to make your project a reality. It all starts with a conversation, so contact us now to get started.
