Brick wall and metal grills across doors to keep thieves out of empty Kirkcaldy shopping centre

A brick wall has been built to keep thieves and vandals out of an empty Kirkcaldy shopping centre after a spate of attacks.
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It is just one of several new security measures taken at the Kirkcaldy Centre, formerly The Postings.

The entrance that used to lead to the former Tesco store now has a brick wall behind its boarded up doors, while metal shutters cover the main entrance at the bus station.

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The steps have been taken in a bid to halt the appalling damage being done by vandals, sparking concerns it is becoming an eyesore.

Metal grills have been put up at one entrance to the empty Kirkcaldy Centre - formerly The Postings - to deter vandals and thievesMetal grills have been put up at one entrance to the empty Kirkcaldy Centre - formerly The Postings - to deter vandals and thieves
Metal grills have been put up at one entrance to the empty Kirkcaldy Centre - formerly The Postings - to deter vandals and thieves

The centre was the target of a number of attacks over summer, forcing the owner to step up security.

The Postings hit the national headlines after the previous owners Columbia Threadneedle put it up for auction with a price tag of just £1.

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It was bought in 2019 by Tahir Ali, of Wakefield based, Evergold Property, who changed its name and set about trying to fill its units.

The boarded up entrance to the Kirkcaldy Centre, formerly The Postings Shopping Centre, which is now emptyThe boarded up entrance to the Kirkcaldy Centre, formerly The Postings Shopping Centre, which is now empty
The boarded up entrance to the Kirkcaldy Centre, formerly The Postings Shopping Centre, which is now empty
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But, in June 2021, Farmfoods quit town, and then in September, the last remaining tenant, Lloyds Chemist, moved out, leading to the centre’s permanent closure.

This summer the building came under attack on multiple occasions with vandalism and break-ins.

Significant damage was caused to the empty shops inside, forcing the owners to take extra steps to project the centre.

They have now sunk a five-figure sum into securing the building, while also maintaining access for lease holders who have used it for storage.

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A spokesman for the developer said: “We didn’t want to board up the entrance at the bus station because it is a gateway to the town centre, but we really had no option.

“We had wood barriers put up which were torn down repeatedly, so now we have installed metal grills.

“The entrance that leads down to the High Street has had to be bricked up because of the repeated attempts to gain access and the attempts to damage the property.”

It is understood at the height of the damage police were called to the centre almost every day.

It is now checked on a regular basis .

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“We are working hard to keep the site as secure as possible. Unfortunately that means bricking up one entrance.

“We are still hopeful of something positive and are working as hard as possible to make this happen.”

The Postings first opened its doors in 1981, and was hailed as a shopping mecca - the High Street’s second shopping centre after the launch of the Mercat.

It was built at a cost of £4.2million, and had around 25 shops plus Wm Low supermarket as its anchor tenant - later to become Tesco, which closed its doors in 2015, sparking the downfall of the centre.

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In 2003, Columbia Threadneedle splashed out some £10.25m to buy it, but a decline in footfall and loss of a number of traders saw it give up all hope and pout it up for auction with a derisory £1 price tag - a figure that gave the town centre headlines for all the wrong reasons, including a feature on BBC’s The One Show who sent Isla St Clair, who ctr the ribbon to open Wm Low, back to see what had happened.

It was bought by Mr Ali for around £310,000.

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