Former cinema that was set on fire to be demolished in interest of public safety

A former cinema that was left severely damaged in a Fife town is to be demolished in the interest of public safety, as tenants in nearby flats were forced to leave their homes.

On Friday, fire crews raced to the building on Bank Street, Lochgelly, to put the fire out.

Two teenage boys, aged 13 and 14, were later arrested in connection with the incident and were referred by Police Scotland to the relevant youth justice authorities.

Fife Council’s building standards team has since been liaising with engineers and have erected an exclusion zone around the building’s perimeter.

Following advice from experts, the council has concluded the building is dangerous and that demolition is the best solution.

Tenants from four council flats adjacent to the old cinema have been evacuated in the meantime, and will be re-housed while the demolition takes place.

Garry Nicol, the council’s service manager for building standards and public safety, said: “We have a statutory duty to act if a building is dangerous.

“Engineers have confirmed that the former cinema building poses an immediate danger to the public. The building is unstable, so an exclusion zone will remain in place until the work is finished.

“The whole building will have to be demolished. It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to save any part of it, but it’s simply not viable. Our priority must be public safety and the needs of the local residents and businesses.

“Demolition will start as soon as possible as this is a busy town centre location and a complex site. The work has been planned in three phases but the full extent of the damage and work required will only become clear as the work progresses.”

He added: “This means that the scope of the work may change and there is a high level of uncertainty about timescales.

“Rest assured we will do all we can to carry out this work as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to residents and businesses.

“The safety of the public has to be our highest priority and we thank everyone affected for their patience while we make sure this building comes down as safely as possible.”