Closure fears eased as The Yard play centre finds new Kirkcaldy base

The Yard will move into a new home at Overton Community Centre in Kirkcaldy from January.

Last week, the said it was going to have to leave its current Argos Centre premises ahead of Christmas with nowhere to go, and warned it could face a temporary closure which would have been devastating to staff and the families who use its facilities. It is the only provider of much needed specialist weekend adventure play services in Fife, currently operating on Saturdays and Sundays all year round. The service supports children from birth to age 25 and provides wraparound family support.

However, it has now announced there will now only be a short disruption to its service, which will be up and running again on January 10 and 11.

Celine Sinclair, chief executive, said: “Over the last week, we have worked closely with the community use team at Fife Council, which has have now secured us the Overton Community Centre. We are thrilled to be able to continue offering our much loved Saturday and Sunday service in Fife.”

She added: “Thank you to everyone who got in touch to suggest possible locations and offer support during our search for a new home.”

The Yard has been operating a weekend play centre for disabled children in Kirkcaldy since 2017 and currently supports 60 families. It has been operating out of the Argos Centre which is slated for demolition to make way for the new £15m community hub in Templehall.

The centre knew it would have to move in March but said it was caught out when that timetable was brought forward to Christmas.

Shona Bellfield, Fife Council's community use team manager, said: “We are delighted The Yard will be able to continue their popular play centre in the Kirkcaldy area. is is such an important service for local people and families, so we're really happy that we've been able to help find them a new home that meets all of their needs."

The Yard Fife usually closes for a week over the Christmas holidays but will extends its break this year to move equipment and do necessary work to make the new building safe and secure for the children. The last service in the Argos Centre location will be its Christmas parties on December 14 and 15.