Crossgates, Fife

Crossgates is a small village in Fife, Scotland.

It is located close to the junction of the M90 and A92, about two miles east of Dunfermline and a similar distance south west of Cowdenbeath. The village name means 'crossroads': it is situated at the point where the main Dunfermline-Kirkcaldy road crosses the old Great North Road from Inverkeithing to Perth.

Crossgates has a long history of mining, both deep and opencast. In 2008 ATH Resources opened an opencast mine at Muir Dean to the south of the village, with the intention of removing 2,000,000 tons of coal. Planning permission for the mine was initially refused by Fife Council but the decision was later overturned by the Scottish Government. In April 2011, an Application for an extension to the Muir Dean mine was lodged by ATH Resources to extend the surface mine to the South which was granted. ATH Resources have since gone into administration, leaving an ecological disaster with an uncertain future.

Crossgates is designated, via a sign-post, as "Fife's first energy efficient village", though there is no evidence for this.

The village has one school, Crossgates Primary School, which also contains a nursery class and speech and language classes. The school is split into 8 classes with around 210 students in the school overall. The school originally dates from 1920. Students from Crossgates Primary typically attend, Beath High School in Cowdenbeath which is the nearest high school to Crossgates.

Crossgates is home to the junior football club Crossgates Primrose. The club play at Humbug Park in the village. Former Scottish International and Rangers player Jim Baxter started his career with the club before signing for Raith Rovers.

Crossgates has its own Bowling Club which is located to the rear of the Community Centre (Miners' Institute) and has been there since 1940.

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