Poundstretchers’ Fife retail park move blocked despite business moving out

The retail giant wanted to move from its current address at Unit 6 - into the recently vacated leisure centre in units two and three.

The planning application from Sackville UK Property Select III was submitted earlier this year and sought permission to change the unit's use into retail floorspace.

“It is anticipated that the current use of the site as a trampoline centre will cease in the near future and therefore it is our client’s intention to return the Unit to its previous Class 1 Retail use,” a planning statement said. “With this in mind… the applicant has been in discussions with Poundstretcher."

The details of the planning application were published, and Xtreme Trampoline Park was caught off guard by the news.

The company said the news about its premises came without “any knowledge or warning.”

In a Facebook post at the time, it said: “As it turns out, to our horror and utter devastation, the arrangements for our premises to be inhabited by another company had been orchestrated without our knowledge or consent since February 2022. Words cannot describe how devastated we are.

“We truly believed there was no possible way this could be the case having had no courtesy of communications from anyone involved.”

The company has said it is “closed indefinitely” following the termination of its lease at Saltire Retail Park, but has said it is looking for a new home.

In the meantime, Fife Council has refused planning permission to change the use of the unit for retail "in the interests of avoiding the unjustified direction of non-bulky/DIY retail floorspace away from Glenrothes town centre."

Planning officers said the application failed to “adequately address availability, suitability and viability, particularly in respect of alternatives within Glenrothes town centre's Kingdom Centre.”

Retail floorspace, planning officers said, should support the vibrancy, health and resilience of the town centre as a place to enjoy and visit. They felt that retail floorspace should be more accessible and better supported by sustainable transport than Saltire Retail Park.