It’s been described as “hot stuff” for fans of the Art Deco movement, its clean lines and austere frontage betraying its 1930s origins as a striking example of late modernist architecture.

But Dunfermline Fire Station will be a building without a purpose when it is vacated in March. It will be replaced by a new, £6 million station in an industrial estate on the edge of town, leaving the future of one of the town centre’s most iconic buildings in doubt.

Now, there are fears that the fire station may be snapped up by developers and turned into a superpub or nightclub -¬ a suggestion that horrifies the town’s Lib Dem MP, Willie Rennie.

“The last thing that’s needed in that part of Dunfermline is another pub or club,” he said. “I’ve seen what it’s like near the fire station on Friday and Saturday night when the pubs close. It can be bedlam and another pub would only make things worse.”

Mr Rennie has given his backing to a group of volunteers who are convinced that the fire station’s future should be in paintings rather than pints.

They’ve organised a meeting of the town’s movers and shakers, to be held on 28th January, as they push ahead with proposals to convert the building into a contemporary arts centre, provisionally called the Fire Arts Station.

Dunfermline Arts and Media (DAM) believe the building could become Fife’s equivalent of Gateshead’s Baltic Mill, which was converted from a disused flour mill to an arts centre, helping to transform post-industrial Tyneside into a vibrant cultural hub.

With a £6500 grant from the Big Lottery Fund, DAM commissioned a study into the feasibility of setting up a contemporary arts centre.

It looked at various other sites but concluded that converting the fire station would be best option for Dunfermline’s arts enthusiasts. The building is almost in move-in condition, its large garage would be ideal as an exhibition area and its 29 rooms would lend themselves perfectly for use as workshops and studies. It even has two kitchens, toilets on every floor and ample parking space.

“It is almost as if the fire station had been built for use as an arts centre,” said DAM co-founder Ian Moir, a painter and film-maker. “Everything about it is perfect.”

He believes creating a centre for the contemporary arts would give the town, and indeed the rest of Fife, a shot in the arm economically as well as culturally. He’s not alone. A study has shown that since Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) was opened in 1999 it has generated millions
of pounds for the Tayside economy. It now attracts around 300,000 visitors a year and its director, Clive Gillman, sees no reason to believe Dunfermline wouldn’t get a similar boost if it had a similar facility.

“I wish this venture well,” he said. “There is no doubt that an arts centre can have a significant impact on a local economy.
“We at the DCA are all about supporting a sense of cultural ambition in the city and I think there’s a place for that attitude in all our towns and cities.”

Another example being used by DAM is in Scarborough, where the Woodend Creative Workspace is run by a not-for-profit trust that leases the building for a peppercorn rent from the local council. The centre, which provides a base for artists and craftspeople, is a key part of an emerging cultural quarter in the Yorkshire town which is helping to generate commercial activity.

Converting Dunfermline’s B-listed fire station into an arts centre would be another significant development in a part of the town that is rapidly changing. Just yards away from the station, the Carnegie Centre, Dunfermline’s main sports and leisure facility, is closed for a £17.2 million revamp, while another neighbouring building, an empty furniture shop, is about to be demolished and its site taken over by a massive Tesco store.

Dunfermline Arts and Media, who have asked Tesco to be “good neighbours” and offer its support to the arts centre plan, are convinced their plans could add to the mix.

The proposal is being taken seriously by the fire station’s owners, Fife Council. It has no definite plan of its own for the building’s future use but is represented on a working group headed by DAM to progress its proposals.

DAM’s own study is pragmatic about the financial implications of the proposal.

“It certainly cannot be assumed that Fife Council can afford to ‘gift’ a building, or offer to charge a peppercorn rent,” the study report states. “However, if the council were able to take the long-term view, the economic, cultural and social benefits from investing in an iconic venue for Fife as well as for Dunfermline are likely to be much more than the short-term aim of additional income.”

The report argues that the costs of running an arts centre could be sustainable, and points to similar centres which are made financially viable through generating various income streams.

In Dunfermline’s case, studios and exhibition space could be rented, cultural events staged and sponsorship sought, while a cafe and shop would also bring in cash.

Artists are not the only potential occupants of the fire station to have emerged in recent years. A Dunfermline development firm last year applied for permission to turn the building into a pub/nightclub as part of a £20 million development. Though that plan was subsequently
dropped, fears remain that other developers could be eyeing the building for pub use.

Fife councillor Gerry McMullan, a Lib Dem who sits on the board of Fife Art and Theatres Trust, said of the arts centre plan, “It is certainly a more appealing prospect than for it to be turned into another superpub.”

The decision to build a new fire station to replace those in Dunfermline and Rosyth has been dogged by controversy. A Fife councillor, retired fire chief Albert Ritchie, has raised concern that response times will be lengthened for many communities, and there are fears that fire engines may have problems getting out of the new station quickly, particularly during rush hours.