A WEST Fife village has now been reclassified as a town after its population has grown.
Blairhall will now be formally known as a town after its population reached over 1000, the official threshold.
The Understanding Scottish Places (USP) revealed the news following an analysis of census data. They claim that "new affordable public housing" has contributed to the area's growth to 1106 residents.
It concludes that Blairhall's population comprises families, with a high proportion of adults aged 25-44, and notes that it has higher rates of full-time employment than other towns.
However, the area is classified as "dependent" due to its "low number of assets in relation to its population".
Generally, this means a reliance on one sector for jobs, a low amount of amenities like shops, and residents travel longer distances to work and study. Therefore, they are reliant on neighbouring towns for assets and jobs.
The area now joins nearby Oakley in its achievement of town status.
Overall, Fife has emerged as one of Scotland’s fastest-growing regions, with a significant number of communities recently granted town status – among the highest in the country.
Others to be recognised are Guardbridge in the county's north-east and Springfield near Cupar.
To identify all of these areas, Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) worked alongside the University of Stirling, with support from the Scottish Government, to add tens of thousands of pieces of new data to www.usp.scot.
While the USP uses the most recent census results as its foundation, it also pulls in facts from a variety of other sources to broaden the analysis available.
Kimberley Guthrie, STP’s Chief Officer, said: “The comparison tool is one of the most exciting elements of USP, allowing towns to immediately compare themselves with similar places. That means these places can learn from each other – potentially demonstrating the art of the possible when it comes to regeneration.
“USP supports organisations of all kinds to understand how places across Scotland are similar, emphasising shared characteristics and opportunities to build knowledge on their local context.
“The data often highlights unseen or unrecognised challenges and opportunities which can inform planning, management and policy decisions.”
