Four bids win funding to bring Fife towns out of lockdown

A new project to help revitalise Kirkcaldy town centre has won financial backing.

Love Oor Lang Toun and the new ShopAppy online platform – the first in Scotland – have been given £20,000 from from the Scottish Government’s Towns and BIDs Resilience and Recovery Fund.

It was one of four successful bids put forward for key support as our towns emerge from lockdown.

The project aims to improve the digital blackspots across the Lang Toun’s High Street since the public wi-fi, bought and paid for by Kirkcaldy4All was switched off after the BID company closed.

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It also wants to bring ‘click and collect’ lockers into the heart of town for people who have shopped online, and provide advice and marketing on social media to local traders.

The ‘Love Oor Lang Toun’ brand is also one of the key messages being adopted as part of Kirkcaldy’s drive back to normal business.

Funding to the tune of £50,000 went to Fife Council’s town centre re-start group which will help provide hand sanitising stations, marshalls, new social distancing signage and a new ‘Love Our Fife Towns Again’ campaign as part of a shop local initiative.

The group also wants to buy portable decks as well as canopies and gazebos to support businesses moving to outdoor trading.

A further £10,000 went to Visit East Neuk to develop a community based digital platform and app.

The funding was welcomed by Councillor Altany Craik, convener for economy and tourism.

He said: “This is an extra boost for Fife’s economy. It will support the implementation of new measures for town centres, addressing immediate concerns and helping our communities recover.

“As we slowly come out of lockdown it’s vital we support our local communities to safely reopen our high streets and recover from the social and economic impacts of the pandemic.

“The steps we take to restore our town centres must be flexible, allowing them to respond quickly to any future changes.”

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