In Pictures: Kirkcaldy town centre stunning AI images spark inspiration for multi million £ funding

While the actual sum has yet to be finalised, and how it will be invested hanged on a detailed blueprint still being drawn up, new voices have already emerged.

Mark Ritchie has gone a step further with a series of images developed via AI to bring a whole new dimension to how the High Street could look. He has taken familiar landmarks and given them a complete transformation to show might be possible. Even the unloved multi-storey car park site takes on a whole new appearance.

Mark posted them on the Love Kirkcaldy Facebook page, and was taken aback by the response.

It was also a labour of love for his home town - he went to Kirkcaldy West Primary and Balwearie High, his earliest jobs were in the Mercat Shopping Centre and now runs his own web design firm.

“I’d been following the Love Kirkcaldy Facebook group, and was inspired by some of the positive members posting there,” he said. “I’d also been reading a lot of comments from people feeling disheartened by the decline of the High Street, so, I started creating the images using a mix of AI and Photoshop to imagine what Kirkcaldy could look like; something colourful and hopeful that would add to the group’s wider efforts to bring some life back into the town.

“When I uploaded the first few images, things got a bit mad. There was a flood of comments — a mix of positive and constructive feedback — and lots of people and community groups began sharing the images even further.

What stood out most were the stories people began sharing: memories of the High Street, their views on the past and present, and what they’d love to see happen next. I had a great chat with Colin Salmond-Wallace, who runs the group, about the impact the posts had on the page and the conversations they sparked. It’s been eye-opening and encouraging.”

Mark’s images created a pedestrianised zone which fully taps into cafe culture, an upmarket retail park on the site of the former Postings, and even turned the Esplanade carpark into an eye catching Primark.

The Esplanade was transformed with stalls and outdoor businesses into a riot of colour and activity, while the former Multiprint site at Seafield became home to the Kirkcaldy Collective - another new networking group launched recently on Facebook by Nicolle Mullen - while the rundown site of the former Kirkcaldy Indoor Market became a vibrant branch of toy shop Smyths.

The ideas were designed to spark debate and encourage others to look beyond the outdated buildings, the gap sites and the issues which have held the town centre for so long.

“I’m not in charge,” said Mark. “I don’t hold a magic wand, and I’m certainly no millionaire able to fund projects, but like so many others in Kirkcaldy, I hope those with the authority and means can help create the town we all want to see.

“When it comes to a vision for change in oor wee toun, I’d love to collaborate with anyone who shares that passion. To me, it’s about both inspiration and action - keeping that sense of hope alive, and having the determination to carry it out in real ways.

“I’m local through and through. My parents and grandparents lived here, and I’ve never lost the connection to the town. It has always held a special place in my heart.”