Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge on multi-million £ funding for Kirkcaldy town centre
Kirkcaldy has moved one more step closer to multi-million £ funding to transform its town centre with confirmation from the Prime Minister that the money is coming.
Sir Keir Starmer made the pledge in the House of Commons on Wednesday - less than three months after Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, confirmed Kirkcaldy was one of only three UK towns to be given priority access to a share of the £240m Growth Mission Fund.
In response to a question from Melanie Ward, MP for Kirkcaldy, he said: “Thanks to funding committed by the Chancellor, today, subject to business case approval, we will approve millions to transform Kirkcaldy High Street and seafront.”
He also confirmed the town’s Labour MP will have a meeting with Peter Kyle MP, the new Business Secretary who was appointed in last week’s Cabinet reshuffle.
Ms Ward said: “After almost two decades of the SNP, and 14 years of the Tories, Kirkcaldy High Street has been in a state of decline. That’s why the Chancellor was right to prioritise Kirkcaldy for multi-million £ funding from the new Growth Mission Fund to build on enormous potential of our town and beautiful seafront,.”
The detail of how much Kirkcaldy will get has yet to be established, with Fife Council playing a key role drawing detailed plan to ensure it delivers the biggest benefits for the town.
Consultations will be key to capturing the views of people across the town, but Ms Ward has said she is pushing for eight - rather than seven - figures, and made it clear she wants to see work starting as soon as possible.
The announcement in June means that Kirkcaldy will be prioritised in the fund which will invest £240 million of capital from 2026/27 to 2029/30 in projects that enable local job creation and the economic regeneration of local communities.
In the House of Commons, the Chancellor said: “We will establish a Growth Mission Fund to expedite local projects that are important for growth, projects like… Kirkcaldy's seafront and High Street, where investment would create jobs and business opportunities... Because people deserve a government which shares their ambition for their local area to deliver renewal, to deliver growth, to deliver opportunity and that is what you get with a Labour government.”
Since then a significant amount of work has been started behind the scenes with the local authority appointing consultants to start work on the masterplan that will be central to the investment decisions made.