There is also an online survey with 8 questions and room for comments.

‘Doing something’ about the burn near the school has been been a concern for several years. Some people think it’s untidy and the state of the fence makes it dangerous others see an opportunity for making it more attractive to look at, play around and be more desirable for wildlife – with added educational opportunities.

A year ago the Kirkcaldy Area Committee agreed to put £20,000 towards the estimated cost of £35,000 for a new fence and general cleanup.

“The project will consist of the installation of 340 metres of secure fence on the north side of the pedestrian walk way. Service entrances will be installed to help access for future maintenance. In addition to the secure fence, work will also be carried out to clean out the Toll Burn and remove overgrown vegetation in the vicinity of the burn.“

(Full details Page 49)

Facebook link (One of the comments – “great news, as a wee lassie I would go catch the wee fish and tadpoles in that burn and take them home in tubs, never would I let a kid near it now 🤢 well needed clear up”

It was never clear how this work would have been done and, especially, how much of the vegetation would be cleared. Bulldozers were mentioned at Community Council meetings and it was thought, by some, that the burn was polluted – probably by effluent from the Alcan site at Whinneyhall. In fact, treated water is in a pipe that follows the burn. (Inspection covers, with yellow numbers painted on, are visible along the pipe’s route to the Forth near Rossend Point.)

Nearly a year ago some local residents cleared many bags of rubbish from the burn over two weekends. Since then the school has changed the way children eat snacks and dispose of wrappers. This has resulted in less rubbish blowing into the burn.

Last year the Community Council commissioned Urban Pioneers to look at the burn and its surroundings and draw up proposals. These are now available on the Community Council website.

The photo (Google StreetView) below shows the burn and park before the school was built. It’s perhaps unfortunate that the only change has been a new path and nothing was done to make it easier to access the burn by the school.

Many people call this stretch of water the Toll Burn, or just the burn but it used to be called the Cot Burn and some people still call it that.

There are surprisingly few references to the Cot Burn. It’s mentioned three times in The Edinburgh Gazette of FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1851 in an interesting article about Burntisland’s water supply.

the stream or brook called Cot Burn, arising in or out of the lands of Whinny-hall and Dodhead, with all springs and feeders supplying the same, which stream or brook flows in a westerly direction, to the north of the said town of Burntisland,and joins the last mentioned stream or brook called the Kirkton Burn, near to the said Kirkton of Burntisland.

Do you think it should still be the Cot Burn or the Toll Burn?

Have YOUR say.