Nostalgia - New look for Kirkcaldy at the start on the 1970s

Record progress had been made on the construction of nearly 300 new homes which were handed over to the Town Council by the contractors. George Wimpey and Co. Ltd, in April, 1971.

The entire project was estimated to be finished an impressive 18 weeks ahead of schedule.

The Fife Free Press told how “hundreds of old houses, most of them unfit or below modern standards, were demolished to make way for the new scheme, involving a massive re-housing operation”.

“Gone are the drab corridor-type streets, with houses abutting directly on to the pavements – houses with outside toilets and stairs and dark closes.

“In their place has arisen an attractive, well laid out scheme, designed and constructed to the highest modern standards.”

The FFP said the houses were incorporated in blocks of two, three and four storeys and comprised 100 two-apartment, two-person flats; 163 three-apartment, four-person flats; and 32 four-apartment, five-person maisonettes – accommodation in total for 1012 people.

They houses ranged in price from £2890 to £4600.

“Two caretakers have been appointed,” said the FFP, “and they are responsible for the cleaning of communal stairs, landings, entrance halls, windows, etc, at a small weekly charge to the tenants.

“There are 12 launderettes and communal stores and 242 car spaces, and work will be starting soon on the erection of lock-up garages.

“A feature, of the development is an alarm system linking up 21 old folk’s houses to a warden’s residence. To summon help, a tenant pulls a cord which operates a flashing red light in the living room window and sounds a bell at the warden’s house.

“The scheme is largely traffic-free. There is no vehicular access from busy St Clair Street, accesses being situated in Viewforth Street to the north and Aitken Street to the south.”

A second stage of the scheme – the erection of about 50 houses to the south of Aitken Street – had been “held up by dual carriageway proposals”.

At a handing-over ceremony, Councillor Roy McNab accepted the houses on behalf of the Council, whilst Bailie Grace Arnott performed the official opening by cutting a tape.

Tenants from the new homes were among the attendees and the guests included members and officials of the Town Council.

Bailie Arnott handed over the keys of two of the two-apartment flats to Isabella Wood, a 73-year-old widow, of Overton Mains, who had formerly resided in the Sinclairtown area for 30 years, and James Todd, a 70-year-old bachelor, of Overton Road, who previously resided in Rosslyn Street for 21 years.

Mrs Wood said later she was delighted to return to Sinclairtown and both she and Mr Todd were enthusiastic about their new homes at Orkney Place.

The FFP noted that other parts of the development also took their names from northern counties – Sutherland Place, Caithness Place and Shetland Place.