Thornton Community Council

03/11/2026

Well what can we say we have had a great start to the fund raising for the memorial park upgrade for the kids equipmentI A few thank you’s have to be said, massive thank you to everyone that has donated through the crowdfund page https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/thornton-park-equipment-upgrade
Massive thank you to Neil Simpson from the local business Simpson Smiddy and to Debbie and Dawn from Debbie’s takeaway for their fab donation and thank you to everyone who has contributed through supplying raffle prizes, purchasing tickets to various events we have held and for purchasing raffle tickets. Last but not least Massive thank you to Thornton Bowling Club for all the fund raising and help we have received. We know this will not be a quick or easy to raise the money but every little helps and we have seen how generous people can be and not just from Thornton.
we are going to be holding more events so please continue to support us either through donation, raffle prizes or purchasing tickets for events and if anyone would like to help us or have an ideas we will be more than happy to listen.

Our Memorial Park play equipment is desperately in need of an upgrade, where kids of all ages and abilities can enjoy and play safely.

03/11/2026

******IMPORTANT UPDATE******

It’s been brought to our attention how inadequate the shuttle bus service is for less able or elderly residents. We’ll be asking our councillors to look into this with Fife Council.

Please be aware the Royal Voluntary Service may be able to help those with additional needs get to GP or hospital appointments.

The service is staffed by volunteers, therefore they may not be able to help on every occasion, but worth considering if you need to get to a medical appointment.

It is essential you register with them BEFORE you need the service by calling them on 01592 269654 Mon-Fri 0830-1600.

Please pass these details to any elderly or less able neighbours.

Royal Voluntary Service
Cllr Daniel Wilson for Glenrothes Central and Thornton
Councillor Lynda Holton for Glenrothes Central and Thornton

01/11/2026

Fantastic progress, but let’s keep it going! 🚧

There’s no denying the impressive progress made at Thornton Railway Bridge over the last few days. In just one long weekend, the old bridge has been removed, the parapets raised and the new deck beams installed.

With the road having been closed for only two weeks, that is a considerable amount of work and everyone involved deserves credit. 👏

For residents and, importantly, our local businesses, the length of the road closure remains a major concern. Every day the road remains closed makes it more difficult for people to get into and through the village, and our businesses need our support during this disruption.

We recognise that there is still important work to complete and that the road can only reopen when it is safe to do so. However, every day saved from the planned closure would be welcomed by the community and will make a meaningful difference to our local businesses.

We therefore hope Network Rail will continue to explore every opportunity to shorten the programme and reopen the road at the earliest safe opportunity.

After such impressive progress, it was therefore a little disappointing to see no activity today, other than an apparently unattended traffic-management van sitting idling.

We hope this is only a short pause and that the pace of work continues, allowing the road to reopen as soon as safely possible.

In the meantime, please continue to support our local businesses during the closure. They’re still open and your support really does matter. ❤️

If you usually drive from Kirkcaldy to pick-up a Toby’s, Pizza Vara or Thumbs Up takeaway, there is ample roadside parking on approach to the southside of the bridge with only a short walk across the footbridge to get to these businesses.

Great progress so far. Let’s keep it going! 👏

01/11/2026

Shout out to Nimbus beds. It’s not just the shops and cafes on the Main Street that are affected by the bridge closure.

31/10/2026

Shout out to Sharon. Owner of one of our local eateries Cafe Choca Latte. Still open for business as usual during the bridge closure.

"I've been in the catering industry for around 16 years, my Mum worked for me and when she passed away, I just couldn't do it anymore, so when this place came up, I went for it.

I think people will remember me and Mum from the snack van that I had on the Hayfield Industrial Estate in Kirkcaldy for all those years. We've been open here in Thornton since May 2024, and we've been so busy. Because I'm from Thornton, we had a lot of support from people I've known for much of my life. Usually on a Tuesday, this place is full. Our pensioners will come in, have breakfast, sit, chat, have their pots of tea, which we fill for free and have lunch too but just look at it today.

This place is kind of like a hub for our older customers, some have lost husbands, some have lost their wives, so our worry was what would happen when they shut off the bridge and as you can see, it's just Jim sitting over there, he's made a huge effort by getting the shuttle bus in, he doesn't keep well either so I take him home on a Tuesday as well. There's usually 8 in a group and it's always packed, so it's sad to see.

I've been in Thornton all my life, I live in Kirkcaldy and still see the same faces, I still know lots of good people, everybody knows me. My delivery driver is my cousin, I'm close to my staff too. The bridge closure is frustrating, 5 months is better than 14 months but that's still 5 months of vehicles not being able to come in from the Kirkcaldy side. There's funding in place for businesses that are affected, there was a lot of misinformation and when the meeting took place at the town hall it was absolutely mobbed, there was lots of anger.

The meetings at the bowling green saw some progress, I felt it for Lydia and Anthony at Tobys, which has been open for 70 years and of course, Debbies down the road who's been open for 20 plus years. Although funding is in place, for us, deliveries are where it all adds up. The detour to Kirkcaldy and back is an extra 9 miles, ten of those a day is 90 miles and for 5 days a week it's 450 miles. That's on top of the delivery apps, Just Eat being the one that takes daft amounts from businesses. It's a lot, for any small business. Someone ordering from Just Eat can mark something down as cold, and they'll get a refund. Everything is cooked to order, there's no hot holding with our food. If they end up shutting part of the A92, that will be pandemonium.

Saturday is busy and that's when Thornton Hibs are at home, I do a bit of the catering for them and they'll send people here for food too. The businesses are trying to support one another but that's what Thornton is like.

I absolutely love my job, and it doesn't feel like work. If I'm being completely honest, after I lost my Mum, I didn't want it to feel like work. I wanted to be around people who had known me all my life, people I'd grown up with and even people who looked after me. Some of my customers will go along the road to my sisters hairdressers, they'll talk to her about something, come up here for something to eat and continue that same conversation with me.

Like Jim over there, I know him inside and out, when he was ill in hospital, we would go in and see him. Carol was in rehab after an accident, we would take her in rolls and go and sit with her to help boost her mood but that's just what Thornton is like, we stick with each other. It's not big enough though. We need Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes to come and help"

Sharon
Cafe Choca Latte

Thornton needs support, I'm going to be going back and forward when I can to meet people. If you can, please visit Sharon and the many other businesses affected by this, alternatively, help get the word out by sharing her story. Thanks

31/10/2026

Shout out to Grant. Our local Butcher in Thornton. Still open for business as usual during the bridge closure.

"This shop has been trading continuously as a Butchers since 1930, and it's been part of my life since 1959.

William Thomson came from the West of Scotland, and converted it into a butchers shop in 1930 after taking it off the hands of the McAndrew sisters, who had ran a drapers shop out of it from before the turn of the century. He operated it up until his retirement in the late 50s and an entrepreneur named William Ferguson Irvine took it on, but even with business interests all over the world, he didn't know much about running a Butchers.

It was all van trade at this time that went from Kelty, all the way to Crail up the coast. My father had applied to the advertisement, looking for a manager to run the shop, they needed someone to get the shop back on course. As a family, we travelled from our home in Shetland to come to Thornton. When Mr Irvine died in the early 60s, his son, William Jnr, had no interest in it, so my father made a deal with and bought out the son. My father ran the shop until the mid 80s, and when he retired, I took on the business.

There was about 6 mobile shops running from vans, from the 50s to the early 90s but the onslaught of the multiples, the chain supermarkets, brought about the demise of the vans. We saw a huge loss of business and my attempt to change that was to pre-pack my products and sell it to shops all over Fife, that became a large part of our business. Everything we produce is handmade, natural and always has been.

To get to the point, why you're here, I don't think anybody knows how this will pan out with the bridge. The timeline was reduced to 5 months, which is great of course. This covers our busy time over the festive period so we're expecting a bit of a loss, even with this recompense in place to help local businesses. That straight road from Kirkcaldy is now gone, now you have to go from West Kirkcaldy via Clunie to get here.

I live next door to the shop, been in Thornton all of my life. I left school at 16, started working in the shop and now I'm 74, so this has been my life for 60 years and I've seen it all, the ups and the downs. People come from all over because proper Butchers are hard to come by.

I also played Keyboard in band called Perfect Strangers. During LiveAid in 1985, we performed in Dundee who also put on a event to coincide with the show, we travelled all over. We toured American Airbases from the middle of the Atlantic, mainland Europe, to the Syrian Border and to the Azures! I still play when I can.

We'd love more local support, all of the businesses in Thornton will be worried. Even with the financial support in place, will it help? We don't know. I've seen the demise of local Butchers as they try to compete with the stuff in the supermarkets but people want convenience. I've dedicated my life to providing people with good quality meat and I'd hate for this to be the beginning of the end, but we'll find a way, just like my Father did all those years ago"

Grant Baillie
Thomson Of Thornton Butchers

If you're able, please support businesses in Thornton affected by the road closure, alternatively, share Grants story to help spread the word. Thank you!

31/10/2026

21/10/2026

What are you doing on Boxing night? Adults only

20/10/2026

🚦Temporary traffic lights in Thornton 🚦

🗓️ Thursday 22nd- Friday 23rd October
🕛 7PM-7AM

ℹ️ This is due to a water leak that Scottish Water has identified. They have advised that the works should only take 12 hours and the temporary lights will be removed by 7AM Friday 23rd October.

‼️ I have asked to be kept updated and stressed the additional disruption this will cause with the railway bridge being closed.

Thornton Community Council

25/06/2026

NEWS: Support scheme announced for Thornton businesses impacted by major disruption

Fife Council’s Cabinet Committee has agreed to introduce a time-limited Business Resilience Support Scheme, which will provide targeted financial support, to help Thornton businesses affected by prolonged disruption linked to the major Network Rail works in the area.


The scheme has been developed in recognition of the exceptional and sustained impact the works are expected to have on local businesses, particularly those reliant on passing trade and customer access. It is designed to provide targeted support during a period of disruption that goes beyond what would normally be anticipated.

Councillor Altany Craik, Spokesperson for Finance, Economy and Strategic Planning said: “This a temporary and exceptional intervention, reflecting the unique circumstances faced by the community.”

“Alongside the scheme, additional support will be available through business advice, local promotion and engagement activity, helping to encourage footfall and support trading throughout the works.”

“We recognise that the disruption in Thornton is unlike anything local businesses would normally be expected to manage, and that it will have a real impact on livelihoods. With the road closed for around five and a half months and disruption expected to last up to 14 months in total, we recognise this will effectively split Thornton in two and create significant challenges for local traders.”

Further details on how businesses can access the scheme will be shared directly with those affected in due course.