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
By 2030, we will have breathed life back into the River Leven, improving the areas surrounding it and making them great places to live, work and visit.
By 2020, 15 partners had signed a landmark Sustainable Growth Agreement, committing us to working together to deliver environmental, social and economic success for the catchment. For detail on the partners involved visit the Leven website. Many other organisations collaborate with the partnership on an ongoing basis.
This large-scale, innovative, multi partner, cross sector blue green infrastructure project is a great example of the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) in action. With responsibility for delivering the CSGN, we are well placed to bring together this partnership, access funding, and share learning across the network.
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 in the Leven Programme – an ambitious initiative formed in 2018. It brings together the public, third and private sectors and community groups to make a positive difference to the river Leven, the surrounding environment and the people who live in the catchment.
Our aims are to: improve the physical and ecological conditions of the river; create better access to the river and improve connections between communities; and create opportunities to improve people’s health, wellbeing and economic prospects.
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 Levenmouth Connectivity Project aims to transform walking, wheeling and cycling in the Levenmouth area. We have developed and delivered some 11km of active travel routes and new paths which are connecting communities with one another, their river, and new railway stations at Cameron Bridge and Leven.
Community input and feedback has been a key part of the design and delivery of the Levenmouth Connectivity Project. The design stage ran from August 2022 to November 2024, and the phased delivery and construction phase will be completed later this year. The first stage, delivered by Fife Council, focussed on a 5km stretch of the river from the new train station at Cameron Bridge to where it meets the Firth of Forth at Leven
The wider ambition of the project is for a world-class active travel network alongside the River Leven, enabling people to travel sustainably along the entire 26km length of the river.
The River Park Programme is itself a complex, 4-year programme, incorporating 10 linked projects with multiple partners. The aim is to deliver an accessible, attractive and biodiverse public park for local residents and visitors so they can connect with each other and with the natural environment and the area’s rich heritage.
We are leading on the delivery of this project, in partnership with Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Fife Council, Archaeology Scotland, SEPA, and Diageo. Consultants bring additional capacity and specialist skills.
The current delivery focus for Green Action Trust is the nature network and improved path network. However, this alone will not deliver transformational change for the local community. A series of additional projects, created with our partners, include a green skills academy, Green Health Partnership, an outdoor education project with local schools and participatory heritage projects. These are delivered alongside community engagement and empowerment activities.
As part of the River Park Project, we have been developing a Nature Network along the River Leven – improving and expanding habitats.
We are currently undertaking phase one of the Nature Network, which is focussed on holding water within the natural environment. Water will be held within the park using Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and through restoring the lade (a channel which would previously have carried water to the local mill) to create new habitats including ponds and wet woodland
Before these works started, we commissioned a Nature Network vision for the whole River Park area. Explore the StoryMap to find out more.
