The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Sod-cutting ceremony marks start of work on new £7.5m retail park
Construction work has started on Cupar’s longawaited new £7.5 million retail park. A sod-cutting ceremony, attended by councillors Margaret Kennedy, Tony Miklinski and Karen Marjoram, took place at the South Road site to mark the official start of work.
The park will feature eight retail and leisure units which, it is hoped, will attract people into the town from further afield.
The largest of the units has already been pre-let to anchor tenant B&M, which has taken 23,000 square feet plus another 7,500sq ft to accommodate a garden centre.
Other pre-lets have been agreed with Indigo Sun, Burger King and Costa Coffee, while the four remaining units are available for rent.
The retail park will create 120 to 140 long-term retail jobs as well as 40 construction jobs during the build and fit-out phases.
London and Scottish Developments, part of Glasgow-based London and Scottish Property Investment Management (LSPIM) has asked Muir Construction to build the 47,800sq ft retail development, as well as 159 car parking spaces.
Andy Richardson, group development director at London and Scottish
Developments, said: “This site has lain undeveloped for many years, and we are delighted to have worked with Fife Council to regenerate it to meet modern occupier demands.
“This new and exciting retail outlet, with its good parking and open-plan, modern accommodation not available elsewhere in the town, will complement Cupar’s existing High Street offer.”
It is hoped construction could be finished before the end of the year.
Councillors removed one of the last obstacles to development in August when they gave the developers permission to build a mini-roundabout at
the entrance to the site before public use of the retail park.
A previous approval required it to be built before work started on constructing the retail park but that condition was removed.
The developers were also granted permission for professional services – such as vets and health centres – to be based at the retail park, despite concerns that those were businesses that could be based in the town centre instead.