Fife Council urged to commit funds to tear down Kirkcaldy’s ugly multi-storey carparks

It has come from Melanie Ward MP just days before councillors meet to set their budgets for 2025-26 - and she wants them to allocate the cash to get the much needed work underway.

Kirkcaldy’s town centre has endured some tough times in recent years with the wholescale loss of major High Street names, and closure and demolition of The Postings Shopping Centre after it had dwindled to barely a handful of tenants. It is now a major gap site awaiting development - one of several across the town centre.

Work on the waterfront has also paused with hopes the multi-storey car parks - dubbed the ‘ugly sisters’ - could be flattened to create a major development site that includes the gap site that was once the home of the old swimming pool which has sat empty for years after being flogged to the owners of The Mercat Shopping Centre for just £1 with the pledge it wouldn’t become a white elephant. Many years on and it has become just that - an overgrown, empty mess.

Ms Ward described how part of the town centre “has become a relic of the past rather than the modern, welcoming and prosperous community asset it should be” and urged the local authority to commit initial funding “to treat down the car parks and accelerate the desperately needed redevelopment of Kirkcaldy town centre.”

Her call for a commitment to funding came after a meeting with Councillor Altany Craik, Fife Council’s spokesperson for finance, economy, and strategic planning. And she underlined that any re-development should adapt to changing shopping habits and reimagine the use of local spaces to meet the modern needs of residents and attract more visitors.

Speaking in Parliament, she also highlighted the opportunity to transform Kirkcaldy’s town centre and seafront into a vibrant community and economic hub.

Ms Ward said: "In Kirkcaldy, we are fortunate to have a beautiful coastal location with the potential for stunning sea views, housing, workspaces, and facilities that could attract tourists and energise our local economy. Instead, we are burdened with dilapidated and unused car parks that blight our town centre and seafront, preventing Kirkcaldy from fulfilling its potential."

Ms Ward has previously raised the need for investment with Fife Council’s leader, Councillor David Ross, and chief executive, Ken Gourlay. She also brought the issue to Parliament last week during a debate with the Minister for Small Business and has raised it previously with the Minister for Local Growth.

She has also engaged with local business owners to discuss their ideas for revitalisation and encourages residents to share their aspirations for the area.

She added: "I will continue to make the case for investment in our town with Government Ministers, including the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP.”

Councillors meet next week - Thursday, February 20- to thrash out the budget at what promises to be a long meeting at Fife House.