Kirkcaldy nightclub to be transformed into apartments

Plans to transform the building once occupied by Kitty’s have been unveiled, and an application for building consent submitted to Fife Council.

Hunter Street Properties Limited wants to develop the site on the corner of Hunter Street, which was the town’s main Post Office until it became a cornerstone of the club scene for a generation of Langtonians.

It plans to create 19 apartments in what was Kitty’s and the adjacent Candy Bar - better known to a generation as The Gallery or Thunder Road.

It wants to convert the three-storey Category B listed former Post Office building into ten flats, and also demolish the adjacent Candy Bar and the “inappropriate” extensions to the north and east sides of the building and use the space to add a further nine two-bedroom apartments.

The proposal also includes the provision of landscaped communal gardens and 18 private car park spaces.

It’s the latest housing development unveiled across the town centre - with more still to come.

Residential is viewed as one of the key foundations for its future role in tandem with retail and recreation.

Work has already started transforming the old gap site at the Co-Op, new flats above Olympia Arcade are on the market, and major progress has been made converting the former offices of Innes Johnston on the High Street and the former Fife Free Press building in Kirk Wynd.

This week also saw plans lodged to convert the former Fife College offices at the Nairn building at the harbour into flats.

Other unused spaces above shops are also being considered by developers as the role of the town centre changes post lockdown.

The company behind the conversion of Kitty’s says it aims to “create an exclusive community of well specified, modern and traditional apartments that will appeal to all ages of purchasers and will help continue the regeneration of the Kirkcaldy town centre area.”

It lodged a pre-planning application in March, and its proposal will now go before councillors for consideration.

Hunter Street Properties Limited - which includes local contracting company K Wallace Joinery Ltd.- said it was hopeful of an early, positive decision.

The Post Office was opened in 1900, before it closed and moved to Forth Avenue.

It was then converted into a nightclub and hotel - the Auld Post Hotel , owned first by Remo Maciocia and then Mario Caira who invested significant sums in several major refits to keep it as one of Fife’s leading night spots.

He also brought many big names to town for personal appearances, and played host to major events such as Rock The Rovers.

In 2019 he added a strip club, called Sin, sparking outrage and debate across the town, before staging one final night for clubbers before closing the doors for good.

At the height of its popularity, queues to get into Kitty’s stretched as far back as the garage at Wemyssfield, while Thunder Road and the Gallery was a hugely popular place for many pub goers.

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