Fife is renowned for its stunning coastlines, quaint villages and tourist hotspots.
But some parts of the kingdom have been neglected in recent years, leaving eyesores that blight the landscape.
After a fire tore through one of the county’s best-loved buildings, leaving it in ruins, we take a closer look at the biggest Fife eyesores and what the future holds for them.
Kitty’s Nightclub, Kirkcaldy
The Hunter Street building was constructed in 1900 and operated as a post office, hotel and nightclub before Kitty’s shut in 2019.
There had been plans to turn the grand B-listed building into flats, but those had yet to come to fruition before it was destroyed by a fire earlier this month, leaving it in a perilous state.
The burnt-out building has now been largely demolished by Fife Council on safety grounds.
Craigtoun Hospital, St Andrews
Craigtoun Hospital dates back to 1903 and was initially known as Mount Melville House.
The former mansion operated as a hospital until 1992 when it was sold – with 330 acres of parkland – to the Old Course Hotel, which used the ground in the development of The Duke’s golf course.
Applications were previously tabled to turn the building into hotel accommodation and a leisure club but those plans never materialised, and the property has remained derelict.
However, over 30 years since it was last used, ambitious proposals to convert the former maternity hospital into luxury flats were approved in August 2023.
Royal Hotel, Dysart
The once-popular venue closed suddenly in 2019, leaving some families hundreds of pounds out of pocket as the firm running it entered administration.
Emergency services were called to the former hotel in 2022 when a fire broke out in the abandoned building.
More recently, the local community has urged the owners to clean up the eyesore site but no firm plans have emerged for the property.
Esplanade car park and former swimming pool, Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy’s waterfront car park is a notorious eyesore, with many locals suggesting the building looks like a prison.
In February 2023, new pictures were revealed showing plans to knock down the building – and neighbouring Thistle Street car park – to create a new surface-level car park, with a pedestrian link to High Street.
Council chiefs have also held talks with The Mercat shopping centre owners, who own the land occupied by the former swimming pool.
The idea is that all three sites combined could create one big development opportunity at Kirkcaldy’s waterfront.
So far, though, the buildings remain standing and no timescales have been confirmed for the proposed redevelopment.
Comley Bank, Dunfermline
The Walmer Drive building was once used as Fife Council offices but has been vacant since 2011, and has been the target of vandalism.
A 19th-century villa sits next to the building, just yards from the Kingsgate Shopping Centre and High Street.
Plans were previously lodged to demolish both buildings to make way for a five-storey block of 42 apartments.
However, Historic Environment Scotland submitted an objection to the demolition, arguing against the removal of a C-listed building.
Like many of Fife’s abandoned buildings, the site has been hit by fire in recent months and, so far, remains standing with no firm plans in place.
Former Ingleside Works yard, Kirkcaldy
The disused yard off Smeaton Road has been registered as derelict land for more than 20 years.
Initially part of Ingleside Steel Works, the building was later a waste transfer station.
Fife Council was close to securing a compulsory purchase order for the disused yard in 2021, with part of the deal being the demolition and clearing of the site.
However, the former waste transfer station remains standing today, with its future unclear.
Lathalmond rubbish dump, near Dunfermline
There have been repeated calls to remove the eyesore rubbish dump at the M90 Commerce Park north of Dunfermline in recent years, with environmental watchdog Sepa also involved.
Mounds of commercial waste have been left rotting at Lathalmond since 2012, which have been labelled an “environmental scandal” by Labour MSP Alex Rowley.
With no plans in place to redevelop the site, and both Sepa and Fife Council yet to make any progress on removing the eyesore at an estimated cost of £1 million, it looks set to remain in place for the foreseeable future
Watts of Cupar
Built more than 200 years ago, the former Wm Watt Seed Merchant office building is one of the most prominent in Cupar.
Starting life as the town jail, the building was most recently Jordans nightclub and Watts of Cupar restaurant.
However, the restaurant and nightclub announced they would close after Hogmanay in 2019 and the B-listed building – which has since been left boarded up and derelict – went to auction in December last year.
It has not been confirmed who bought it or whether there are plans to redevelop it.
Old Inverkeithing Primary School
The former Inverkeithing Primary School, constructed in 1913 for the rapidly increasing population in the area, is now a major blot on the town.
Since closing, the building has become a repeated target for fireraisers, leaving just a shell.
There have been several plans throughout recent years to redevelop the site for housing and in December 2022, Fife Council backed a proposal for community-led regeneration of the site – sparking fresh hopes that the land could finally be brought back into use.
- Which other eyesores in Fife would you like to see redeveloped? Let us know in the comments below
- Dundee’s biggest eyesores – and what’s planned for them
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