Councillor appeals to store chain to help find new Glenrothes tenants for its defunct shop

Fife Council is calling for support from a retail giant to help fill the gap left by its recently closed Glenrothes store.

As Glenrothes marks its 70^th anniversary a whole host of investments are planned  to try to revitalise the town.

Now, following the recent closure of the Dunnes store in the Kingdom Centre, the local authority is asking the retail chain to help attract a major retailer into the vacant unit.

Labour councillor Altany Craik is calling on the Irish company, which is closing all six of its Scottish stores, to work with Kingdom owners Mars LaSalle and the local authority to attract a new tenant as quickly as possible.

The economy convener said: “Glenrothes offers a great opportunity for new and expanding businesses to locate and thrive.

“Hailed as the town of the future when it was planned in 1948, a host of town centre developments are now under way to benefit Fifers and create new jobs.”

He’s now written to Dunnes’ managing director Franke Dunne for help.

“Fife Council is calling on Dunnes to help deliver an innovative joint marketing campaign to find a new anchor tenant for the Kingdom Centre, to ensure vibrancy is maintained and further boost and regenerate the town centre,” he said.

Fife Council is working with PACE to provide former Dunnes’ employees with advice on taking the next steps in their working lives.

A wave of investments means that commercial interest is growing in the town centre, including:

• A £500,000 investment by Fife Council to create Glenrothes Enterprise Hub, bringing new businesses into the town centre by providing space for business tenants, meetings, events and hot desking;
• A £10 million retail/leisure development by Easy Living Development being built, bringing Marks & Spencer Simply Food as a flagship store to the development, creating 100-150 jobs;
• The development of the Queensway Technology and Business Park, a £1.17m development by Fife Council;
• A £500,000 environmental improvements programme expanding pedestrian and cyclist mobility;
• Social investment by the local Baptist church to bring a long term vacant office building back into use, creating a community hub and a place of worship;
• A £20m district heating system that will service industrial and commercial premises as well as Fife Council’s office buildings, using renewable heat from RWE’s biomass power plant.