The withdrawal of Tesco from a prime Cowdenbeath site should spark a debate on the future of the town’s High Street.
That is the view of local MSP Alex Rowley, after it was revealed the supermarket giant has decided to drop its planned superstore on the North End Park site as part of its nationwide belt-tightening exercise.
The news that the long-awaited plan which would have brought more than 150 jobs to the town has been shelved brought dismay.
Mr Rowley said it is clearly disappointing because a Tesco in the town would have been a godsend for the economic regeneration of the town.
But given this decision and the lack of any visible progress in addressing the derelict buildings at this end of the town plus the lack of progress in bringing forward any plans for the development and sustainability of the future of Cowdenbeath town centre he has written to Fife Council’s head of enterprise, Robin Presswood, to request a meeting to discuss how to move forward.
“We have to have a meeting fairly quickly so we can get round the table and discuss exactly what is going to happen and how it is going to be delivered,” he said.
“This gives us all the opportunity to revisit the whole strategic proposal or lack of one for the development of Cowdenbeath town centre. There is no reason this cannot spark a debate on what is the future for the High Street, what kind of town centre are we talking about and what is the strategic plan for that,” he said.
Mr Rowley has taken Bids Scotland the business improvement district body on a tour in an attempt to find a way to give Cowdenbeath’s High Street a long-term and viable future.
“The Tesco news is disappointing but we need to use this to really start to see what the plans are and how we move things forward,” he added.
Picture by George McLuskie