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An Economic Profile of the Glenrothes Area - Home Page

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ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDGlenro<strong>the</strong>s• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s was <strong>the</strong> second New Town in Scotland, and was designated in 1948. Thedesignated site (5730 acres) was “an area <strong>of</strong> great natural beauty astride <strong>the</strong> RiverLeven”.• As a new town, Glenro<strong>the</strong>s was established to house <strong>the</strong> miners who were to work at <strong>the</strong>Ro<strong>the</strong>s Colliery which had opened in 1947.• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s was a genuinely new community; <strong>the</strong>re were no existing settlements <strong>of</strong>significant scale within <strong>the</strong> New Town boundary. The first new homes were occupied in1951. The town centre was begun in 1955, but only began to take shape in <strong>the</strong> 1960s.• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s grew steadily from <strong>the</strong> 1960s onwards. Although <strong>the</strong> failure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ro<strong>the</strong>sColliery due to extensive flooding was a setback, it enabled <strong>the</strong> town to develop a morediverse and modern manufacturing economy.• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s played a key role in <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> Scotland’s Silicon Glen. Between1961 and 2000 several major electronics and hi-tech companies set-up facilities in <strong>the</strong>town. The first <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se companies, Hughes Aircraft (now Ray<strong>the</strong>on) moved to Glenro<strong>the</strong>sin 1960 and is still located in <strong>the</strong> town to this day.• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s has become an important administrative centre. The Glenro<strong>the</strong>s DevelopmentCorporation (set-up to manage <strong>the</strong> new town), Fife Regional Council and now Fife Councilhave all had <strong>the</strong>ir Headquarters in Glenro<strong>the</strong>s, Since 1996 Glenro<strong>the</strong>s has also been <strong>the</strong>Headquarters for Fife Constabulary.• Glenro<strong>the</strong>s has become a substantial town, <strong>the</strong> third largest in Fife. In 2008, <strong>the</strong>population <strong>of</strong> Glenro<strong>the</strong>s town was 38,750, compared with Kirkcaldy (48,630) andDunfermline (46,430).Markinch• The Haig’s whisky bottling plant used to be a major employer in <strong>the</strong> town. Many localresidents still have connections with <strong>the</strong> firm, which is now absorbed into Diageo (Leven).Papermaking is an important employer in Markinch and <strong>the</strong> Tullis Russell paper millprovides employment for around 600.• The former Haig’s Whisky bottling plant is now <strong>the</strong> Haig Business Park, and <strong>the</strong> Fife radiostation, Kingdom FM is based <strong>the</strong>re.3

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