THE announcement that a new Lidl store will now be built in Rosyth was an "absolute final kick in the teeth" for the chairman of a now defunct football team.
Rosyth FC were uprooted from its Recreation Park pitch back in 2018 when they say they were given notice to leave from Fife Council after they agreed to sell the land to make way for the development of a Lidl supermarket.
With a search for a new place eventually looking like it had ended with the creation of a new facility at Pitreavie playing fields.
However, this collapsed when Lidl announced they had shelved plans to come to Rosyth and new terms for the new proposed base were deemed unaffordable and the club made the difficult decision to fold.
This week, Lidl announced it had resurrected its plans for Rosyth and confirmed it had purchased the site on Admiralty Road after a successful deal was agreed between Lidl, the previous land owners Mac Mic Group, and Fife Council.
READ MORE: Lidl withdrawal impacted Rosyth FC's agreement for new home
The plans, previously approved by Fife Council, represent a multi-million-pound investment, and will see a new store open by in 2026.
While welcomed by those involved in the deal, Russell Craig, who made the difficult decision to fold the team as club chairperson said: "It is an absolute final kick in the teeth.
"We had this agreement all along that was a like-for-like replacement park built once the sale of land went through. I don't doubt that that somehow has gone which would be pretty disgusting to be honest.
"The fact that that they have waited for us to ultimately have to close the doors and then lo and behold they can all come to some agreement.
"It wasn't just for us but potentially for the community because they took that bit of green land. There is a lot of anger about it. If we get a park, I will get a football team. I will start it all over again.
"I was disappointed to read the statements that it was all sunshine and rainbows now. The council are still claiming they didn't kick us out but we got a notice to quit.
"I am still fighting. I have been contacted this week by ex-players and people who are ex-committee members saying what are we doing.
READ MORE: Rosyth Lidl plans revived after surprise purchase is finalised
"I am still trying to fight. All I need is a football park. If I could get a football park, I can resurrect a football club. We can start afresh but we can not do that without a football park and we are getting no support from the council. They are not planning at looking at this again.
"It was never an easy decision to fold the club. I will have to live with that forever but we had no alternative."
Responding, Fife Council's head of property services, Alan Paul, said: "While the council had no planning or legal obligation to rehome Rosyth FC, we did our best to help them.
"We offered financial support which would have allowed the club to take advantage of significantly discounted hire charges at Pitreavie as well financial support to help with the transition.
"It was disappointing that Rosyth FC decided to withdraw from this and we don't have any plans to revisit these discussions.
"We've recently invested in the new training facilities being developed by Dunfermline Athletic at Castle Road, Rosyth. We're also bringing new pitches to the area as part of the new high school being built on the Fleet Grounds site."
Lidl say the new store will create up to 40 new jobs and will feature the retailer's bakery along with the much-loved 'Middle of Lidl'.
Plans also outline customer toilets with baby-changing facilities, alongside parking for both cars and bicycles.
READ MORE: Lidl's plans for new Rosyth store will 'not be progressing'
Ross Jackson, Regional Head of Property at Lidl GB, said their plans for Rosyth have been approximately ten years in the making.
"We are very excited to have reached an agreement with Fife Council and Mac Mic Group that will allow us to finally bring a Lidl store to the community," he said.
“As our customer base continues to grow in Scotland, this deal marks another important commitment to our ongoing investment in the country, and the Fife area in particular.
"We would like to thank the community of Rosyth for their continued support and now look forward to finally making their new Lidl store a reality.”
David Ross, Fife Council Leader, welcomed the news.
He said: "I’m very pleased that Lidl has now confirmed plans for opening a store in Rosyth will be going ahead.
"It has taken some time to have this investment confirmed but it will be a welcome boost for the local area.”
Craig Ormond, Director at Mac Mic Group, added: “We are pleased to have facilitated the sale to Lidl. This was a complex project involving multiple stakeholders.
"We now look forward to watching Lidl deliver this much-needed new store in Rosyth which we know will be welcomed by the local community.”
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