Kirkcaldy Seawall: the 1920s plan to create sea wall to tackle flooding and create new amenities

The first report on plans to build the wall complete with a detailed drawing, appeared in the Fife Free Press in 1921. It went before the Provost’s Committee for discussion and approval.

A century on, the sea wall has been re-done, and the waterfront remains a work in progress as more changes are made - but it is interesting to look back on what the council’s faithers had in mind all those decades ago. Much of their thinking chimes to this day.

A report to councillors said all properties on Sands Road would “increase enormously in value” as the risk of flooding was tackled, and town would enjoy “greatly improved” amenities as “so much of this area is merely a rubbish tip at present.”The report to the committee stated: “ With a very different sea beach, it will become a fine promenade with wide open spaces on the landward side. The benefits to the children of the town, let alone the adult population, will in itself be worth a great part of the cost.”

The report noted Kirkcaldy had plenty of parks and open spaces, but no suitable place for recreation to take advantage of the sea air, and a clean beach was an “important factor in maintaining the health of the town and would be very popular with children - it noted they preferred a beach because hew fear of infringing byelaws often made them, afraid to have fun in parks.

The planners of the day envisaged a new sea wall plus a road 60-feet wide running from the Tiel Burn to the main Burntisland-Queensferry Road at Bridgeton, forming a new relief route through Kirkcaldy. It meant buying up some properties and building a bridge at the Tiel Burn, but it said such moves were key: “Road traffic is rapidly increasing and the through roads in all towns are becoming more and more congested.

“One of the worst examples of such congestion is Kirkcaldy High Street and its continuation into Links Street. They are narrow and crooked and as they are the route for the tramway lines and the principal shopping stress, there is very little room left for through traffic. If this relief road by the shore be made, the benefit will be manifest and shopkeepers in the main street and the inhabitants of the town who use these streets will benefit very considerably.”

They purposely avoided a straight line for the sea wall, and recommended staircases and cart access to the beach, while the stretch opposite Volunteers Green was to be wider to give accommodation to the regular market held there.

And they also envisaged a new open air swimming pool near the harbour to encourage swimming “and promote cleanliness generally” as well as a possible site for a bandstand, a gymnasium for exercise after swimming, plus seats and shelters. The report estimated 100 jobs straight away, rising to some 250 - a key part of the plan to get men back to work after the end of World War One.

The plan was carefully considered and approved generally - but not everything got the go ahead. The proposed swimming pool was deleted to save some £8000, the prom itself was amended slightly, a cart access at the harbour knocked on the head … and you won’t find a sandpit, because it was never actioned.