Hollywood could soon return to Kirkcaldy after a major operator hinted that a deal to open a new cinema was close.
Vue Cinemas has exclusively told The Courier that, while no deal has been concluded, the company is developing plans to open a cinema in the Lang Toun.
It is believed to be earmarked for the former swimming pool site on the waterfront.
A major meeting is understood to have taken place between Fife Council officials and Vue executives earlier this month.
While the company is keen to stress that no deal has been completed, this is the strongest hint yet that the silver screen will return to the town.
“Vue Entertainment continually looks for potential new site options and we are aware of the site development at Kirkcaldy,” a spokesman said.
“The development is still in the early planning stages and so no final decisions have been made yet.”
Kirkcaldy has been without a picture house since December 2000 making it one of Scotland’s largest towns not to have such an attraction.
Instead locals have to travel to Glenrothes or Dunfermline, despite a report from the British Film Institute, published earlier this year, claiming a town like Kirkcaldy could sustain three screens.
A new cinema has also been widely regarded as a potential driver for regeneration of the town centre for many years.
While refusing to get carried away, Councillor Neil Crooks, chairman of the Kirkcaldy area committee, said he was upbeat about a potential deal being struck.
“Many discussions have taken place over many years to try to secure an investment package in Kirkcaldy which would bring us a cinema,” Mr Crooks said.
“There have been too many false dawns for me to celebrate prematurely but I know discussions appear closer now to a workable deal than at any point in the past.
“We have shown as a council a total commitment to our town centre and waterfront, investing in infrastructure which attracts private investors’ attention.
“We will be bringing our town centre Time for Action report into the Mercat later this month for two days of conversation to capture the public’s views on current thinking.
“The need for a cinema sits within those plans and I will be the first to celebrate if, and hopefully when, an agreement is reached.”