Kirkcaldy CARS

FHBT provided mentoring support to Fife Council in their management of the £1m 2009-2014 Kirkcaldy Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme, funded by Historic Environment Scotland and Fife Council.

A centrepiece of the scheme was the restoration of a derelict C listed former warehouse building tucked behind a Co-op funeral parlour on Kirkcaldy Esplanade.  Accessed from the High Street down Adam Smith Close, this 18th-century building is significant as it is a rare surviving example of a rigg building – a type once prevalent within the riggs, extending from the rear of the buildings fronting Kirkcaldy High Street to the seafront – and long understood to be on the site of Adam Smith’s birthplace.

Working with Stephen Newsom, Architect and with contractors Campbell & Smith and Thomas Menzies Ltd, we carried out external repairs to ensure it was wind- and water-tight, removing immediate risks to the building and saving it from dereliction, and installed mains service infrastructure, bringing water, gas, electricity and telecomms connections to the building.

The building was then sold to the Adam Smith Global Foundation, who completed the project to house their Adam Smith Visitor Centre.  With office space on the upper floor, the ground floor hosts a multi-functional space for events, including the Adam Smith Exhibition and Visitor Experience.

We are very grateful to Historic Environment Scotland and to the Coastal Communities Fund for their support of this project, along with generous grants from Fife Council and Fife Environment Trust.

Ravenscraig Walled Garden 

Ravenscraig Walled Garden is currently home to Kirkcaldy Community Gardens & Allotments CIC (KCGA), Rural Skills Scotland (RSS) and Greener Kirkcaldy’s Community Training Garden. Two B- listed stone structures sit at the Dysart Road entrance to the Walled Garden, and have long been disused due to their dilapidated state.

In 2024, thanks to funding from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF), it was possible to move forward with repairs, delivered by FHBT on behalf of Fife Council. These works have returned the stores to a structurally sound, wind and watertight condition, safeguarding their future as part of the vibrant and historically significant Ravenscraig Walled Garden.

In 2026, a timber glasshouse will be reinstalled in the position of previous glasshouses, reinstating this key feature of the Walled Garden and creating protected growing space for KCGA. 

1895 map showing the location of the Ravenscraig Stone Stores.

Ravenscraig stone store in 2023 prior to repairs project.

Ravenscraig stone store in 2025 following repairs project.