A bid to breathe new life into a run-down area of Kirkcaldy town centre has been lodged with Fife Council.
Dundee-based Newport Property Development wants to build 39 affordable flats and commercial units on the site of the former Co-op building at the east end of the High Street, in a move which would also see the adjacent empty former Reid Furniture shop torn down.
Since the old Co-op was demolished in 2006, proposals for flats have stalled but the latest blueprint appears to represent the best chance so far of the prominent site being brought back into beneficial use.
The eyesore site has been fenced off and become unkempt.
A supporting statement for the applicants says the proposed development will provide “high quality, sustainable homes”.
It adds: “The current proposals offer a chance to finally develop the vacant site, providing 39 new properties for rent in Kirkcaldy town centre.”
Planning consent was gained for 26 flats and retail space in September 2005 by previous owner Graham Hutt, who ran a furniture store from the premises.
The property was subsequently sold to McGrandles, which applied for and was granted a demolition warrant in 2006.
However, the development was shelved and despite a warrant being extended to 2010, work never started.
Thirty-one parking bays to the rear of the flats also feature in the plans, which will be considered by councillors later in the year.
