For over three decades, the High Street gap site in Dunfermline has remained underdeveloped, a missed opportunity for enhancing the town centre. Once home to the Co-op department store, the gap site has been an empty space since the 1990s.

It’s hard to believe that a prime location, in the high street of a historic town, has failed to attract developers. Various proposals have surfaced, yet none have materialised. Meanwhile, our High Street has struggled with vacant units, limited attractions, and declining footfall.

A total of £1.3m has now been allocated from the Place-Based Investment Programme to ‘transform’ the gap site into a city square - an idea that has been passed from councillor to councillor for almost twenty years, with no quantifiable interest from town centre business, residents or high street visitors.

Despite claims of public consultation, there is little evidence of meaningful engagement with residents and businesses. Only last year, Cllr Aude-Boubaker Calder - Cllr James Calder’s wife - said retailers and other businesses should be involved in the process as the redevelopment of the High Street gap site could affect their operations. This raises serious doubts about whether meaningful consultation has taken place at all—with businesses or the public.

That was a year ago, has the consultation been held? We don’t know. Nevertheless, our elected members are forging ahead, determined to tick this 30-year-old problem off their list of to-dos. In doing so, they’re closing the door to any further conversation about the future of the gap site and how it could play a role in the regeneration of our historic town centre.

It’s estimated that the development work will take 18 months to complete. This will likely cause significant disruptions for businesses and residents. Can this £1.3M project truly drive economic growth and footfall, or will it amount to little more than an expensive facelift?

Many people who live, work and shop in our town centre might point out that a better paved high street, more diverse businesses, bin free streets and fewer cars would create a more welcoming high street, for them and would-be tourists. They may also question how welcoming a tree lined gap site behind the back of the bus station, a hot-spot for anti-social behaviour, will become in the evenings.

Fife Council tout the city square as a place that would host farmers’ markets, performances, and events. That’s assuming that there will be enough interested parties willing to host said events, or if the city square section of the gap site is even suitable, it’s not very big. Measuring at a little over 400sqm, this is half the size of the area that Dunfermline Artisan Market occupies in St Catherine's Wynd on a busy day, and less than a third of the size of Kirkcaldy’s Town Square.

approx 400sqm of usable area

Dunfermline needs more than a symbolic gesture. It needs a well-thought-out plan that truly revitalises the town centre. Will this city square achieve that, or will it be remembered as another wasted opportunity? Will a landscaped gap site genuinely address the deeper issues facing Dunfermline’s High Street, or is this a missed opportunity for something more impactful?