Glenrothes pub to be demolished for new convenience store and takeaway

The Dixon Arms on Glamis Avenue has been permanently closed for some time. Now, Glasgow based Scotsman Group has been given the go ahead to transform the site.

The property is named as both Dixon Arms and Coopers Bar in the planning application. However, both businesses are listed as permanently closed, and the building now sits empty.

The developers want to demolish the old pub and make way for new local amenities. Fife Council approved its application this week.

It will now start work on demolishing the building and replacing it with a convenience store and hot food takeaway with 20 parking spaces. The new business will be operated by the Scottish-family owned business, ‘One 0 One’ chain of stores.

A supporting statement from the developer said the pub had been on the market for a significant period - “far longer than normal” – to find a new landlord without success. The building had become a magnet for vandals, with concerns over fires and break-ins.

The report added: “ It contributes negatively to the Glamis Centre and needs to be re-purposed in a meaningful way. After dark the pedestrian only area becomes a place where you wouldn’t want to walk through. Having derelict empty units contributes to the sense of foreboding.

"A much more people centred place will have plenty of glazed areas overlooking the public plaza spaces. The Coopers Bar, even when occupied has small window areas, not necessarily overlooking the pedestrian routes and contributes little to the concept of eyes on the street to improve natural surveillance.”

The new store will take up just 50 per cent of the pub’s footprint and will be “a simple, streamlined design – a single storey building that will complement the existing centre in terms of its design.”