Located in the heart of Fife, Glenrothes was designed in 1948 as part of the plan to expand coal-mining in Fife and a need to house the estimated 3500 miners to be transferred from Lanarkshire.

The area of the proposed town was around 5370 acres of agricultural land which had belonged to the Leslie and Balfour families.

Sinking of the No.1 shaft of Rothes Colliery began in 1948.  Soon after, water-baring sandstone was encountered.  The first coal came to the surface in 1957, but mining conditions were proving difficult and the battle against flooding continued.  In 1962 Rothes colliery was closed down.

The loss of Rothes pit was a severe setback for the new town’s Development Corporation.  However, in the early planning stages, efforts had been made to ensure that Glenrothes had a mixed industrial base with one in eight of the working population being miners.

Economic development

The new town site already had an existing core of non-mining industries in the various mills on the River Leven.

The first real break for Glenrothes into the industrial field came with Beckman Instruments Ltd.,  followed by Hughes International (UK) Limited.

Many other electronic and light industrial firms were attracted to the area, resulting in the development of shopping centres, offices, houses, community buildings, libraries, sporting facilities and parks.

Today Glenrothes is the administrative capital of Fife, with a population approaching 40,000.  The most northerly of Britain’s new towns, Glenrothes is unique in that it is not close to a major city and thus has not become a mere suburb for commuters.

Place to live

From the very onset, it became a community in its own right.  With its wide-open spaces and greenery, Glenrothes has grown into an aesthetically pleasing, modern town.

It has a large riverside park, an abundance of town art, golf courses, a network of cycle routes, good road and rail communications, an airport and, at its heart, a vibrant indoor shopping centre.

At the Kingdom Shopping Centre (www.kingdomshoppingcentre.co.uk) in Glenrothes you’ll find a unique mix of specialist, independent retailers alongside familiar high street names, with over 100 shops to chose from.

The Centre is easily accessible by public transport and offers free car parking for up to three hours.

Wide malls all on one level provide easy wheelchair access and the Shopmobility service on site offers an extensive range of manual and motorised wheelchairs, as well as an assisted shopping service, free of charge.

Leisure

The Rothes Halls, situated in the centre of Glenrothes, are the cultural hub of the area, offering a wide range of facilities for community events.

Fife Institute of Physical Recreation and Education (FIPRE) situated in Viewfield Road is very popular.  Facilities include a large main swimming pool, complete with “high diving platform” a teaching pool, sauna/steam room, squash courts, a large hall and outdoor pitches.  As Fife’s largest indoor and outdoor recreational centre, it also boasts a café, crèche, and fitness and health suites.

The large expanses of the colourful Riverside Park are just a few minutes walk from the centre of Glenrothes.  The well-kept park, laid out in the 1960’s, features pleasing woodland walks, floral displays and play equipment.

Fife Airport (www.taysideaviation.co.uk) to the west of the town provides excellent facilities for leisure flyers while casual day visitors can enjoy the breathtaking air experience flights.

Glenrothes is one of the main campuses of Adam Smith College (www.adamsmithcollege.ac.uk), the third largest in Scotland, noted as an international leader in the development of high quality further and higher education practices.   There are in excess of 1000 educational programmes covering a diverse range of vocational areas.

60th Anniversary in 2008

This year (2008) Glenrothes celebrates its diamond anniversary.  A wide and diverse programme of events have been developed to cater for all ages and interests.