Are the Mercat and Kingdom Shopping Centres heading in different directions?

The days when they were packed with folk, every shop unit was filled, and they spent big on bringing celebs to town belong to a different era, but both remain key spaces in Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy respectively, and both still have a part to play in the future of our towns. If they want to.

When Richard Baker MP for Glenrothes asked for thoughts on the Kingdom Centre, he was overwhelmed with 750 comments in just 24 hours - ideas galore from people across the community. They care. They want it to be a bustling old place again.

The centre was bought by Luxembourg based Focus Estate Fund, from Mar Pension Trustees Limited last April in its first venture into Scotland, and pledged to turn it into a “vibrant hub for residents, visitors, and tenants.”

His meeting with them was positive. Jenny Gilruth MSP has also been in dialogue with them and could reel off a tranche of ideas and initiatives the owners were open to.

Not everything may come to fruition, but it’s better to throw ideas at the wall than just stand idly watching the paint peel.

They talked off longer opening hours to tap into the evening economy with bars and restaurants, while issues such as community facilities and rental costs were also aired. There is much work yet to be done, but, from the outside looking in, I got the sense there are owners at the wheel keen to make their mark. We need that same sense of dynamism to give the Mercat a kick up the backside.

The Kirkcaldy mall was recently described to me as “an end of life shopping centre” and it certainly feels like it.

Walk through it on a rainy day and you’ll find as many buckets put out to catch the drips as you will actual shoppers. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but the sense of fatigue is everywhere, from the closed walkway to the car park, to the units which have stood empty for a decade or more. The names above the doors hark back to a different time.

The Mercat is in desperate need of investment, but it also needs a shot of enthusiasm and a sense of urgency to again be a focal point of the town centre - and that can only come from its owners and managing agents.

The Kingdom Centre certainly felt a busier place on a recent visit - busier than previous times, for sure - and that is even with the vast empty unit that was once home to Dunnes, and the long forgotten Co-Op at Albany Gate. The sooner it comes down, the better.

The Mercat has its positives too - Fire & Lightning has tapped into the gaming community quite superbly, Greggs remains an institution and TKMaxx, Ecobean and Home Bargains are go to places, but I’m struggling beyond them to name many others in a mall that once had Halfords, Tesco, HMV, Mothercare, Miss Maude, The Forum, The Present Shop, a soft play place that then became Iceland (or was it the other way round), and any many, many more.

The Kingdom Centre may be on the right road, but I fear The Mercat has yet to start that journey. Anyone got a set of jump leads?