An open letter to the new owners of the Postings in Kirkcaldy

Congratulations – you are now the owners of The Postings Shopping Centre in Kirkcaldy.

More importantly, you are now important players in the transformation of Kirkcaldy town centre.

So, welcome to the table.

The Postings occupies a prime site in the heart of our town centre.

You may also be interested in:

Watch our video of M&S staff applauding last customers as Kirkcaldy store closes

The Postings shopping Centre up for auction with £1 pricetag - here’s how it sold

Old grenades and bullets found in Fife park

Sure, it’s a bit shabby and, sadly, very empty, but you’ll know that having watched The One Show last night.

The decline started before Tesco quit town in 2015, but that single closure had a profound impact on footfall, and we have another one with the closure of M&S this week after 80 years in the High street.

Oh yes, and we have a muckle big empty unit that used to be home to BhS – the first BhS to be opened in Scotland.

How interesting they chose Kirkcaldy – and not one of the big cities – to launch north of the border.

That fact alone tells you everything about how prosperous and vibrant our town centre once was.

The good news is we haven’t given up hope on it. Far from it.

In fact, there are more organisations and individuals than ever working to create a new future built around a mixture of retail (we have more independent traders than ever), residential, and recreation.

Your plans are key to turning things around.

So, once the paperwork is all signed and you get the keys, you need to demonstrate a clear commitment to Kirkcaldy.

Buying The Postings and simply sitting on the land is a no-no as far as we are concerned.

We don’t want, or need, an absentee landlord – got plenty of ‘em, thank you – or an investor playing a long game to sell it on for a tidy profit.

We need someone with a clear plan for The Postings or the land it sits on.

We want to hear your vision, your ideas and your commitment.

We want to know what your investment will be in terms of resource and commitment.

We want to see progress and action with a clearly defined timescale.

The auction was the easy part. Now comes the hard work.

We look forward to hearing from you ... if not, we’ll not be shy at knocking on your door!

Yours, the Fife Free Press on behalf of Kirkcaldy.