A Glenrothes charity has thanked people power for preventing it from being made homeless.
Linda Ballingall, the founder of the Glenrothes and Area Heritage Centre, said that the public show of support for the hub had been overwhelming after it emerged that another charity was eyeing up its unit within the Kingdom Shopping Centre.
The British Heart Foundation was rumoured to have been looking at taking on the unit in Lyon Way, due to a clause in the heritage centre’s lease that could have seen it moved if another tenant wished to take on the premises.
However, after news of the centre’s situation emerged, a huge online show of support has coincided with the BHF confirming that it is no longer looking to take on the premises.
Mrs Ballingall said that establishing the museum had cost over £20,000 and that to relocate would have been impossible.
“I would like to thank everyone for their support,” she said.
“It has been overwhelming.
“Finding the funding to relocate was worrying me.
“How was I going to raise at least £20,000 again?
“That was just one part of it but with the rates on top of the relocation it was going to be impossible.”
Opened in November 2013 by the Scottish Parliament’s then presiding officer Tricia Marwick, the heritage centre has welcomed thousands of visitors through its doors.
Having hosted several high-profile exhibitions from its base in Lyon Way, the centre had been established to chart the relatively short history of Glenrothes, as well as the longer-established surrounding communities such as Leslie and Markinch.
However, the facility has also branched out to explore other areas of history, with more than 8,000 visitors turning out to view an exhibition to mark the centenary of the Titanic disaster.
A quarter of a century in the making, plans for a centre to mark the development of Glenrothes were first hatched by the Glenrothes Development Corporation in the late 1980’s.
Though establishing such a facility within the Rothes Halls never materialised, Mrs Ballingall championed efforts to establish a service for the area, culminating in the opening of the town centre site three years ago.
The British Heart Foundation confirmed to The Courier that it was no longer considering locating to the premises occupied by the heritage centre.
jowatson@thecourier.co.uk.
