A WEST Fife councillor has spoken of his frustration of shop rents and rates differences in the town which are hampering efforts to create a thriving town centre.

David Barratt has highlighted differences between the prices paid for units in Regents Way which are owned by Tesco compared to ones close by in the newer Gateway site which houses outlets such as Greggs and Specsavers.

"There has previously been a perception that the shops, owned by Tesco, are too expensive to rent and I reported earlier in the year that Tesco had reduced rents to reflect a changing market with one unit previously available for just over £25k per year now available for £17k per year," he said.

"I also reported that unfortunately, rateable values do not always reflect the current market.

"Since then I have raised with the Assessor Service in Fife the difference between the new Gateway units and the Regents Way units.

"While not a perfect like for like comparison, it is surprising to see a rateable value for Greggs at the Gateway of £19.8k compared to the unit where the Post Office was located of £25.1k despite the rent being £17k."

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Cllr Barratt said it appeared the rates for the former Post Office unit were based on the previous rent.

And he said the situation was made more frustrating as the Scottish Government Small Business rate relief system kicks in at properties with a rateable value of under £20,000.

"We are needing to try and keep our town centres going and the Scottish Government has done a bit of that and units should be benefitting from that and currently they are not," he added.

"The (Dalgety Bay) Trust is looking to develop the community centre and do other things to create a civic square and town centre feel in Dalgety Bay. We need to keep up the pressure to try to offer that. Dalgety Bay should be a thriving town centre."