The first phase of a major Kirkcaldy housing boom is expected to take place this year, the town’s leading councillor has said.
Neil Crooks, the chair of the Kirkcaldy Area Committee, said he expects construction work on 1,100 proposed homes at Kingslaw, at the north of the town, to begin in 2018.
The largest expansion of the Lang Toun for a generation, the development at the former opencast site will also address long-standing concerns about the local road network, particularly approaching the A92 at Redhouse.
He said this development could be the first of many significant housing projects in the town, with housebuilders keen on investing in other prominent plots.
Mr Crooks said: “We should see the first of 1,100 new houses being built at Kingslaw in 2018 which opens up the whole site to the north east of the town and will address the traffic pinch points between Gallatown Roundabout and Redhouse Roundabout.
“It will also improve road links to the Standing Stane Road through the north of the site.
“The massive former Nairn industrial site at Victoria Road is also attracting developer interest, while new council housing at Overton Road and Beatty Crescent is replacing derelict land.”
While welcoming the regeneration of these sites, Mr Crooks said he grudgingly welcomed any proposals for the site of the former Victoria Power Station on Victoria Road, which supplied electricity to the town’s tram network.
The prominent B-listed building faces the wrecking ball following years of wrangling over its future, with developers unable to work its Edwardian baroque facade into modern plans.
Despite being marketed for the nominal fee of £1, no buyer for the site, which has already lain empty for the best part of 80 years, came forward.
Stating his hope that any future plans might be able to reflect the town’s heritage, Mr Crooks added: “The former power station site at Victoria Road is more attractive for developers with permission for the listed front facade to be demolished, rather than retained.
“That particular site development does sadden me as it is part of our industrial heritage but could and would have lain derelict for many more years due to the cost of saving the building for a developer.
“The site was on the market for £1 and there were no takers, however, I hope we can salvage something from the site as a reminder of the Kirkcaldy trams.”
