Comment: Retailers' plans for Kirkcaldy are a sign of confidence in town

Two retail developments emerged this week which will surely give every business a much needed boost of confidence about life on the other side of the pandemic.

Lidl’s planned new store on the Esplanade has the green light - indeed, the structure of the new store is starting to take shape.

And, this week, a planning application from Spar marked their return to the top of the town.

More than two years have lapsed since it pulled the shutters down on its St Clair Street store, but now it has unveiled a bigger, more modern shop on the corner of Pottery Street, currently home to a car wash and a former showroom

Not only will it transform that site - on one of the busiest roads into town - but it underlines once again there is an appetite to invest in Kirkcaldy.

Even in a world of online shopping and deliveries to our doorstep, we still want - and need - a good mix of welcoming, vibrant shops.

The full impact of the pandemic and its prolonged lockdowns, has yet to be fully assessed, but we hope our core businesses will find ways through it and out the other side.

And, when the doors do re-open and it is safe, once more, to shop, browse, meet, drink and out, we need to support them live never before.

The benefit of spending with local businesses stretches much, much further than any purchase online.

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