Ambitious proposals to secure World Heritage Site status for Kirkcaldy have been unveiled.
A group set up to reclaim the legacy of the town’s most famous son is working towards the accolade in the belief it is achievable in the long term.
The Adam Smith Global Foundation, launched in Kirkcaldy last year in honour of the world-famous economist and philosopher, has already attracted international attention and has planned a number of events and initiatives in his name, including a summer festival.
Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy in 1723 and wrote The Wealth of Nations at his home on the High Street.
The work, which advocates bringing public, private and philanthropic principles together for the benefit of all, is still regarded as fundamental in classical economics.
Despite this, he is largely ignored in his home town and organisations such as the International Adam Smith Society see the Fife town as a “missing link”.
Trustees of the Adam Smith Global Foundation have already visited New Lanark, a Unesco World Heritage Site, which is described as an 18th century cotton mill village.
It celebrates the life and times of mill manager and social pioneer Robert Owen, who is less well known internationally than Adam Smith. It is now one of Scotland’s top attractions, welcoming around 350,000 visitors each year.
Former MSP Marilyn Livingstone, one of the driving forces behind the Adam Smith Global Foundation, said: “We believe we need Adam Smith as a catalyst and we need to badge him as New Lanark has badged Robert Owen.
“We need to work together and raise funding jointly and the outcomes will be an improved physical and social environment. Even if we can’t achieve World Heritage status, working towards it is the right thing to do.”
In the meantime the foundation has ambitions to transform Adam Smith’s former home into a museum housing a major exhibition on his life and work. The plans also include a local heritage trail, as well as a national one, transformation of the east end of High Street into a merchants’ quarter and an annual traditional dinner.
The Adam Smith Lecture, which attracted some of the world’s leading academics at Adam Smith College last year, will continue annually and there will be a major festival involving international guests in the town next year.