The owner of a decades-old Glenrothes hairdressers, the Glenwood Salon, says the forced sale of his unit could spell the end of the business.
Brent Burnett, 46, believes the firm’s days are numbered if Fife Council fails to work with him to find it a new home.
The salon, opened by Brent’s mum Margaret in the 1970s and later passed on to him, is one of just a handful of businesses left operating in the Glenwood Centre.
Once a major shopping district in west Glenrothes, the complex of flats and commercial units has been left to flounder after its last owners Glacy and Light entered administration in 2012.
Following years of complaints about anti-social behaviour, Fife councillors agreed to spend £1.5 million buying up the 16 retail units and 24 flats above in 2019.
They bought the flats through a compulsory purchase order (CPO) in order to knock them down.
However, the Glenwood CPO has been jammed by formal objections from the landlord and tenant of one commercial unit who says the council is “bullying” them out of the site.
An inquiry is set to take place later this year conducted by the Scottish Government’s planning appeals division to determine whether the buy-out can proceed.
Nervous breakdown
Mr Burnett – who courted controversy last year for his stance on coronavirus rules and face masks – is not among the formal objectors.
However, he has had back-and-forths with councillors and council officers over the future of the Glenwood Salon and its five full-time workers.
He believes the stress of the situation – coupled with other factors in his personal life – contributed to a nervous breakdown last summer.
He said: “The council said it wasn’t going to put me out of business but I feel like I’ve been lied to.
“I’ve been here since I was 16. I took it over from my mum and built it up. Now it feels like there is no future.
“The problem we have as a hairdressing business is that we have built up a clientele here.
“It’s all well and good to say ‘just relocate elsewhere’ but we would be starting from scratch.
“People aren’t going to walk halfway across Glenrothes to get their hair cut. If we move, that’s 30 years of clients gone up in smoke.
“I would say about 60% of our customers are regulars so moving would be an uphill struggle – and that’s before we consider the impacts of Covid.”
Mr Burnett says he would accept a direct swap from one unit to another if a new Glenwood appeared.
But he claims that the council will not entertain the prospect – offering him the lease of a unit rather than a like-for-like exchange.
‘They could offer £1m – it’s the principle’
His only other alternative in the local area is renting a unit from the new-build Newbridge Retail Park next door at £1,500 a month – a price he brands “ludicrous”.
“All I want is to get my salon back at the end of all this,” he added.
“Why should we have to lease a unit from the council when we own this one?
“I’ve paid my taxes for 30 years, council tax, business rates, and this is the thanks I get.
“I don’t want compensation – I want what’s mine. It’s been a family business since the 1980s, and this was going to be my pension.
“There’s no plan B. I’m not building up a new business now at 46. It would take years to build up again elsewhere.
“It’s not about the money, for me. They could offer me a million pounds. It’s the principle.
“I’ve got two girls wanting to take up hairdressing – but now I can’t give to my daughters what my mum gave to me.”
In a statement, Andy Maclellan – Fife Council’s community projects team manager – said: “We’re working with the local community to regenerate the Glenwood Centre and make it a place where people want to live, and businesses want to open.
“As part of the process, a CPO is in place and the district valuer has been appointed to act for the council in settling claims arising from the commercial properties at the Centre.
“While we can’t get into the detail of individual claims, we are continuing discussions with Mr Burnett about the process and the future location of his business.
“We will reimburse reasonable costs in making arrangements to relocate, although making those arrangements is the owner’s responsibility.”