Jenny Gilruth's constituency includes Kinglassie.

'WHO owns our town? You might think that Glenrothes is owned by the people who live and work in Fife. But it's not. Glenrothes town centre is owned by a private company by the name of Mars Pensions Trustees Limited.

As we approach the town's 70th Birthday I've been investigating what this organisation does for our area. With so many empty shop fronts in Glenrothes it's important we work to attract business in; Mars Pensions have a role to play in that.

I’ve been extremely disappointed by what I've found so far. Since I was elected last May I haven't heard a peep from the company. I've written to them, phoned, emailed - and nothing. Yet, the minute I tagged them on social media calling for action - I received a phone call from their managing agents in London.

The managing agents of Glenrothes claim they visit regularly. I'm asking local businesses if they've been visited by the town's owners recently and if they're aware of a central point of contact in the company. The responses I've received so far have been quite telling.

Glenrothes is not alone, however, many of Scotland's New Town's have their civic space owned by private companies. I think it's important to work with other towns like Glenrothes on this issue. I've secured a meeting with the Minister for Local Government and Housing, Kevin Stewart MSP, to discuss the future of the Kingdom Centre.

I would like to ask readers of the Central Fife Times to please get in touch if they've had any experience of dealing directly with the owners of the Town Centre - the more I have as the town's MSP, the bigger a picture we can build to help shape the town's future.

Over in Holyrood we've returned from Parliamentary recess following the Summer break. My committee work on Health and Sport and the Local Government committee is really fascinating. On Health we've been looking at the issue of child protection in sport, particularly with regard to youth football. Neither the SFA or the SYFA have come out of these evidence sessions well. Over in Local Government we've been taking evidence on building regulations in the wake of the Grenfell disaster earlier this year. No Local Authority in Scotland has recorded any ACM cladding (the type used in Grenfell) - it's important the public are reassured but it's also vitally important that building regulations are adhered to - to ensure that something like Grenfell never happens again.

If you'd like to get in touch about any of the issues I've raised in this piece - or if you need support with a matter I might be able to help with - please contact me via jenny.gilruth.msp@parliament.scot or give my constituency office in markinch a phone on 01592 764 815'.