Kirkcaldy cinema campaign attracts interest from operator

The strength of voice from the people of Kirkcaldy and the surrounding areas, is said to be a factor in helping to show demand is there.

On the back of the growing petition, LaSalle – the firm which manages the Mercat Shopping Centre – has now produced more promotional material to help entice cinema firms to open a new picture house at the site of the old swimming pool.

The Esplanade site is now being pushed as an attractive opportunity for a firm to open up and run a cinema.

LaSalle has appointed estate agents Savills, which will be marketing the cinema site at two major business conferences later this month in Manchester and London.

The brochure shows some updated visions for what a cinema could look like, and notes the strength of interest among residents in and around Kirkcaldy as a selling point.

However, we can not afford to be complacent, because now more than ever we need to shout louder about what we want.

With the retail sector in towns up and down the country seeing a dip across the board, the key to regenerating town centres is to improve leisure facilities to bring in greater footfall.

Kirkcaldy is among those towns which are feeling the pinch in these hard times of economic difficulty, and only by increasing our leisure offering can we see the return of a vibrant town centre.

The best way to show operators that Kirkcaldy is the place to do business is to sign our petition.

You can sign it online or get a copy from our office on Carlyle Road.

Share it, spread the word, and get your friends and family to put their names to the petition and help make the united voice of Kirkcaldy louder than ever.

Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Lesley Laird met representatives from LaSalle at a meeting in London on Wednesday.

She said: “LaSalle has handed a brief to Savills to market the old swimming pool site and it is actively using the Press’ campaign as part of their sales pitch to potential operators.

“A national operator has already expressed interest on the back of the online petition, which clearly shows that our voice is having an impact.

“Savills will also be marketing the cinema site at two major business conferences later this month in Manchester and London.

“This is encouraging but we can’t get too excited: there’s no deal on the table yet.

“So my message to the Kirkcaldy community is this: we can’t rest on our laurels and leave it all up to Savills to do the hard sell.

“If you haven’t signed the petition yet, sign it now. Share it, push the message and urge others to sign it too.

“We have a real chance to make this cinema happen – events are favouring us at the moment.

“The more names we can get, the better to convince operators it’s worth them investing in Kirkcaldy.”

To sign the petition online go to www.change.org/p/lasalle-investments-kirkcaldy-wants-a-cinema

Help us make Kirkcaldy’s case for a new cinema

Over 3500 people have now signed our petition to get ba cinema operator to come to Kirkcaldy.

Now we need to raise the bar even furhtre and add more names to ensure opur voice is heard.

It is clear our campaign ha had an impact.

It pulled together all the various strands of the debate, and demonstrated this was an issue that united the town.

Speaking to politicians, business leaders and council officers, it was clear we needed to fught our corner – to demonstyrate the strength of saupport to any cinema operator looking to expand,.

While the planning application for the site went through the system – it is due to be heard next month –there was no-one on board to actually run a cinema.

Our aim was to try to change that.

We wanted to demonstrate the support of the business community, the backing of Fife Council and politicians across parties, and the desirte of the town to get a cinema back in the heart of Kirkcaldy.

We have had petition vorms in 75 shops – and not just in Kirkcaldy.

The cvatchment area for a cinema here would be significant – another key message to emphasise to any potential operator.

The news we now have someone registering interest in the Kirkcaldy site is fantastic.

But it doesn’t mean we’ve won.

Now, more than evfer,m we need your name added to the list of voices calling for a cinema.

The louder our voice, the stronger our case becomes.

If we want a cinema, we have to be more active than ever before.

So our plea today is to every reader to add their name to our online petition .

~Sign it, and share it on your Facebook page and Twitter account.

Encourage your friends to do the same.

Kirkcaldy merits a cinema – and we know it is one of the key components in changing the entire role of our town centre for the good.

The politicians wasnt it.

Ther businesses want it.

And the people definitely want it.

This campaign speaks for them all.

Add your name and make the case for Kirkcaldy more compelling than ever.