Wildlife first for rubbish dump

It has taken four years to transform Balgonie Bleachfield

A former rubbish tip in Fife has been transformed into a haven for wildlife in what is believed to be the first project of its kind.

The Balgonie Bleachfield is now a 10-acre home to a variety of grasses, mosses, heathers, trees, butterflies, moths, birds of prey, otters and mink.

The Milton and Coaltown of Balgonie Community Council spent four years working on the tip.

It was a bleachfield from 1842 but from the mid 1960s, was a landfill site.

The rubbish tip eventually closed in 1996 and over time turned into a meadow.

Different soil means different things grow around here that you wouldn't normally see anywhere else in Fife Jack Chalmers Milton and Coaltown of Balgonie Community Council

Jack Chalmers, Milton and Coaltown of Balgonie Community Council vice chairman, said: "We could see the amazing potential of the site.

"When the tip was capped and reinstated it meant that the soil had poor nutrient content.

"Different soil means different things grow around here that you wouldn't normally see anywhere else in Fife.

"The poor nutrient content was actually a boon to the area. The unique wildflower meadow environment contains a wide variety of plants not common in the surrounding agricultural area. This makes it the ideal outdoor classroom."

He added that £105,000 raised by the community council, with support from the Fife Environment Trust, the Big Lottery Fund and Fife Council, there were now paths around the site, along with viewing points and a car park.