This will include repairing historic buildings and structures such as Dysart Tolbooth and Dysart Harbour as well as providing new housing and meeting environmental needs. The Sinclair or St Clair family have held the position of feudal superiors or barons of the burgh of the estate of Dysart since 1407. They were responsible for gaining Burgh of barony status towards the end of the 15th century. Royal burgh status in the town has long been disputed. A main reason for this being the area was a commercial background. A missing charter was only confirmed in a charter granted by James VI in 1587. However the title was indeed granted to Dysart in 1594 with the honour of having a seat in the parliament. A dispute between the St Clair family and the town inhabitants about the right to use the moorland resources was referred to the Convention of Royal Burghs in 1694 and was resolved only in 1718. Originally St Serf's Church was the meeting place of the town council, until this moved to Dysart Town House in 1877. The provost and town council met at this location once a week right up to the time of the loss of royal burgh status, when the town was amalgamated into Kirkcaldy in 1930. The town's former coat of arms was represented by an oak tree. This stood for the memory of the three trees planted in Dysart wood for the three Sinclair brothers. According to the tale, one night in the woods, the brothers were robbed and then killed each other. The site of Dysart Wood is most probably Ravenscraig Park. The whole of Dysart is a conservation area. This was designated by the former Kirkcaldy District Council (KDC) on 8 May 1978. Dysart Tolbooth on the High Street, erected in 1576, is the centrepiece of Dysart's historic buildings. This was once used as a public weigh-in and measures house; guards house and eventually a prison built as an extension in 1617. The building was also known to keep explosives. When this was occupied by Oliver Cromwell's troops in 1651, one of them accidentally dropped a match into a barrel of gunpowder (which was abandoned by a Dysart merchant) causing the roof to be blown apart. The upper part of the building was rebuilt between 1733 and 1734 with an ashlar bell-chamber and a stone ogile roof. The neighbouring Dysart Town Hall was once used as the meeting place for the provost and town council.