No groundworker listed in Markinch yet.

A groundworker handles the unseen work that supports a building - excavation, foundations, drainage runs, sub-bases, site clearance and grading - everything below ground level before the bricklayers and joiners arrive.

Get a soil and ground-conditions check on any site you don't already know - clay, made-up ground or peat each call for different foundation strategies and ignoring this is the most expensive mistake on a build.

Make sure any drainage work is signed off in writing - groundworks that fail building control later are a nightmare to retrofit once a slab has been poured.

Markinch is a small town in central Fife, sitting on a hill above the River Leven and effectively adjoining the eastern edge of Glenrothes.

The town has a long history - the hilltop parish church dates from the 12th century and its distinctive Romanesque tower is one of the oldest surviving church structures in Fife.

Markinch was historically associated with papermaking and the former Tullis Russell paper mill was a major employer until its closure in 2015.

The town has a rail station on the Edinburgh-Dundee main line, making it one of the better-connected small towns in Fife, with a journey time to Edinburgh of around 45 minutes.

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Fife is a large peninsula in eastern Scotland, bounded by the Firth of Forth to the south and the Firth of Tay to the north - a geography that has given it a distinct identity and earned it the traditional title of 'The Kingdom of Fife'.

Dunfermline is the largest settlement and a former capital of Scotland, granted city status in 2022, while Glenrothes serves as the administrative centre and St Andrews is known worldwide as the home of golf and Scotland's oldest university.

The south-west of Fife has a strong industrial heritage - coal mining and shipbuilding shaped towns like Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly and Rosyth - while the East Neuk coastline is defined by a string of picturesque fishing villages: Anstruther, Crail, Pittenweem and St Monans.

Inland, the Howe of Fife is fertile agricultural land dotted with market towns like Cupar, Auchtermuchty and Falkland, the last of these home to a beautifully preserved Renaissance palace.

Fife is well connected to Edinburgh via the Forth Road Bridge and Queensferry Crossing and to Dundee via the Tay Road Bridge, making much of the region practical for commuters while retaining a strong sense of local identity.