20/08/2026
Here's part 2 folks...
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18RrZz8z5x/
"I think Kirkcaldy is a town of hidden potential and I think people are blind to that potential.
I held a town meeting recently and quite a few people turned up which was surprising for a Tuesday, and the amount of positivity, hope and great ideas that came from that was mind blowing. I'm just collating information before organising the next one, but it will be very soon.
20 years ago, there was a big drive by Fife Council to promote tourism in Kirkcaldy because there was no tourism, it's still the same but the idea I had was from my own experience of surfing in Cornwall with my pals. I remember walking up a hill and seeing people in the water, doing all sorts like bodyboarding and surfing. I couldn't believe my eyes. Cornwall tapped into their potential and utilised their best asset. I wrote the council a letter in 2006, which I found recently and it basically said that if you're wanting tourists to come, utilise the water. Start small, look at the tidal pools up the coast that have been built since then, Cellardyke for example and of course, nothing happened.
There's now this plan for a community hub that's been spoken about. I'd been to all the meetings and I know my opinions are well known but who is going to travel to Kirkcaldy to come to a hub? The only ones desperate for it are the builders building it. Build a sea pool, it doesn't cost much, those towns are heaving all year around. The potential we have for that kind of thing is VAST. Invest it in the older buildings in town of historical importance. We're not a linoleum town anymore, things have changed, Kirkcaldy needs a new identity.
I think the passion of the people who care is fantastic. When we had that meeting, I said one of the best groups we have is Growing Kirkcaldy. Alice is an absolute gem of a woman. The town looks so much better thanks to them. What about a group called "Cleaning Kirkcaldy", or "Mending Kirkcaldy... anything that can be done to spruce up the town.
I do the walking festival in Kirkcaldy, I took that on and I do that because it benefits the town. Same with the Halloween festival, we had storytelling and dancers. I don't make a penny doing that but it promotes positivity and we all have a duty to do that for our town. If you're not willing to do that, then you don't have any right to moan. There's far too much of that on social media.
My idea was for us to be a festival town, have events all year around and cater to particular niches like music, movies or the arts. Look at how successful the Wemyss Cats have been. A big music festival for example, there's one in Leven, Lochgelly and other smaller places now, where's Kirkcaldys music festival? Look at how amazing our music scene is in Fife.
People will come to Kirkcaldy if they have a reason to come. We had the Christmas light event last year and we had Glenn Macnamara singing, who's a big name now and he helped out because he's from here. He loved being a part of this, and the event was busy all day long. It could have done with being spread out a bit more but we're learning. There's just so many things we can do here and with enough of us, we can get something going. We need younger voices here because this is all for them, it's for their future. It's your town, use your voice. If we engage them with this hope that we have, let them see it.
The shops are dead, things have changed now on the high street. The independents need help, they need support, they'll not benefit from this hub. Make parking free for 2 or 3 hours. When the big names left, Kirkcaldy never recovered so how do we take what's left and utilise it to its potential. Put a skate park/roller rink in the old BHS building. Build a climbing wall in the town centre, make it the biggest in Scotland for example... Climbers from all over want bigger and better... Give them it and they will come.
Lets make the town shine again, and that won't come in the form of some soulless building, it'll come in the form of leisure, by utilising our best asset, our waterfront. By giving people a reason to come here and fall in love with it
"Just like I did 30 years ago"
Please feel free to add your own opinions on how this money should be spent below or share Ambys story and maybe someone with Kirkcaldys best interests will see it.
Please join this group that Amby has set up
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1EtNEQsqHD/
