There was standing room only at Kirkcaldy Town House on Monday evening as hundreds of supermarket employees, town centre traders and shoppers united to voice opposition to the proposed closure of Tesco’s Kirkcaldy superstore.
Dozens more were refused entry to the meeting, such was the passionate level of interest, with speakers taking it in turns to go out and address the spill-over group who gathered in the stairwell outside.
Labour MP and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an impassionedplea for “people power” to save thesupermarket.
He urged residents of Kirkcaldy and beyond to write to Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis to demonstrate the strengthof opposition to the closure proposals and suggested some might encourage boycotts of Tesco stores elsewhere if they were unhappy.
Mr Brown expressed concern over the proposed loss of 189 jobs and the impact on the town centre.
But he said for elderly people inparticular, Kirkcaldy Tesco and its post office was “not just a superstore but a social centre”.
He said: “I say to Tesco that for 40 years we have served you well in Kirkcaldy.Now it’s time for Tesco to be good for Kirkcaldy and reconsider its position.
“We have to put the case for customer power, for people power, for citizenpower.
“Rent and rates, car parking costs and the post office all need to be looked at.
“The Tesco saying is that ‘every little helps’. What we can do is help fight this with a campaign.
“We will not let the main post office close in Kirkcaldy.The future of the High Street is at stake here.”
Mr Brown added: “Let us fight. Let us fight to win. And let us fight together.”
Neil Crooks, chairman of Fife Council’s Kirkcaldy Area Committee, said theclosure decision announced to staff last Wednesday morning “beggared belief” and showed a “complete disregard” for the people of Kirkcaldy.
He also highlighted the “community hub” nature of the Kirkcaldy superstore.
He said there was a “relationship” between staff and those who used the store regularly. Its closure would be a particular loss to town centre employees and elderly people with limited mobility who used Kirkcaldy’s main post office.
Praising ongoing efforts in recent years to rebuild the fortunes of the town centre, he said: “There is a passion in the town… If we do nothing it will shut, but we are not going to go down without a fight.”
Council leader David Ross, who is a Kirkcaldy councillor, said that Tesco hada “moral duty” to keep the Kirkcaldysuperstore open.
Confirming Fife Council was given no warning of the closure announcement before Wednesday, he said he had spoken with MSPs, Gordon Brown and DeputyFirst Minister John Swinney to raiseconcerns.
A “full and frank” meeting had also been held with Tesco’s Scottish corporate affairs manager earlier in the day.
While he did not want to raise false hopes, he said that thanks to pressure so far, Tesco had gone from the closure being a “done deal” to Tesco being willing to listen to the case for it staying open.
Fife Council economic development officials were now pulling together the case for its retention.
Mr Ross said: “The Tesco store in Kirkcaldy is in a unique position. It is the only supermarket in town with a range of goods.
“If that store was to close it would cause people a lot of trouble and a lot of extra expense. I’m worried about the 189 staff. I’m worried about the huge impact on the town centre.
“What worries me the most though is the impact on customers. Older people, people with mobility problems.
“It would be very difficult for thousands to access Asda and Sainsbury’s at the retail park because bus services just don’t go there. Morally, Tesco should not be shutting this store.”
Kirkcaldy4All manager Bill Harveysaid the closure of Tesco would be a “body blow but not the death knell” of Kirkcaldy town centre.
More generally he said business rates were “suffocating” entrepreneurs and strong political leadership was required.
Levenmouth councillor Tom Adams, who also works at Kirkcaldy Tesco, praised the “integrity and dignity” of the Kirkcaldy management and staff during this difficult time.
He said the campaign to keep Tesco open and save jobs had been quickly overtaken by the public who want the store to remain.
Around 4,500 people had signed a petition.