Council apology as letters on Kirkcaldy cinema demolition sent before plans finalised
Fife Council has said sorry after letters on the demolition of Kirkcaldy’s abandoned ABC Cinema were sent out before plans were finalised.
The bulletins were sent to residents of flats which form part of the High Street development, as well as local businesses.
They outlined plans to carry out internal and external condition surveys of the properties which are wrapped around the building, starting on May 25 - before any work gets underway.
But in an update, Alan Paul, Fife Council’s head of property services, said: "We’ve been working on behalf of the King’s Theatre trustees, who own the building, to explore options which will include a plan for the safe demolition of the building.
“We do have an agreed process in place for how this work should be progressed but it’s clear on this occasion we got it wrong. This means that letters have gone out ahead of plans being finalised and signed off. I’d like to apologise for any distress this may have caused.”
“We’ll be speaking with key stakeholders over the next few weeks to work together to finalise the next steps.”
The letters were sent out in the name of Martin Cooper, construction director at BAM which has been appointed by the council to do the demolition work, which comes 26 years after the cinema closed its doors. The council has also appointed Hollis Building Surveyors to carry out the surveys.
In his letter,Mr Cooper said: “This will be a visual inspection of the built fabric within your flat/office/business including stairwells
“This will provide photographic evidence in a report which will be shared with you prior to works commencing on site. There is nothing to be concerned about - this survey is there to protect all involved.” Mr Cooper said a public meeting will be held before demolition work gets underway at which it will outline its plans.