Former Kirkcaldy Tesco store to be demolished as part of Postings redevelopment plan

By Claire Warrender

November 28 2022, 2:43pm

The former Tesco store closed in April 2015.

The former Kirkcaldy Tesco store is to be demolished along with The Postings.

Plans reveal the vacant Hunter Street supermarket, rooftop car park and the empty shopping centre will all be flattened to make way for a £50 million housing development.

The Postings was rebranded as The Kirkcaldy Centre when it was bought by Tahir Ali in 2019.

Tesco closed its doors in April 2015, with the loss of 189 jobs, and has lain empty for more than seven years.

Proposals during that time included the possibility of an independent supermarket and even a new cinema.

But talks ended when Covid struck and the country went into lockdown.

Owners Evergold Investments Ltd now describe it as an attractive town centre development site.

Demolition will take 18 weeks

The New Look store and former Debenhams, which connect to the Postings, will remain.

A planning application lodged with Fife Council predicts the demolition work will take around 18 weeks.

Plans to knock down The Postings to make way for up to 300 flats were revealed last month.

And they received the backing of councillors, who said it was great news for Kirkcaldy.

The 40-year-old shopping centre went up for auction in 2019 with a price tag of just £1.

It was bought by Evergold’s Tahir Ali for just over £300,000 and closed last year when the last two remaining shops shut.

Kirkcaldy Tesco ‘a redevelopment opportunity’

The Kirkcaldy Tesco store was one of 43 branches closed by the company in 2015.

It followed a high profile campaign to save it, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown stepping in to act as mediator.

However, Tesco insisted the store was unprofitable and must close.

Kirkcaldy Tesco customers sign a petition to keep the store open in 2015.

The town’s BHS closed the following year, with Marks and Spencer shutting in 2019.

Fife Council’s economic development spokesperson, Councillor Altany Craik, has welcomed The Postings demolition plans.

He said: “By demolishing and clearing this site, it provides a fantastic redevelopment opportunity that could bring a much-welcomed boost to the local economy.

“It also complements the rest of the regeneration work going on in the town centre and helps reduce the number of derelict buildings in the town.

“I look forward to this prime location coming back to life.”