GREEN MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Mark Ruskell, has said residents around the former opencast site at Westfield, near Kinglassie, should receive over a quarter of a million pounds of community benefit funds if plans to redevelop the site go ahead.

Fife Council is due to consider planning permission in principle on Monday (October 23) for a masterplan at the site, which would include recycling facilities, incinerator, solar energy farm and industrial units.

Mr Ruskell warned however against ‘greenwashing’ in the proposals, where less environmentally friendly projects are dressed up as clean and green, and urged councillors to make sure community benefit is a condition of any future detailed planning applications.

He said, “The site at Westfield is ideal for a renewable energy park, with proposals for a solar farm contributing to the wind generation already taking place at the former mine. "I am concerned however that the real heart of this proposal seems to be an incinerator to burn, rather than recycle waste, and it would worry me greatly if the renewable generation at the site was merely ‘greenwashing’ to try and push through the incinerator.

"There is already significant capacity for incinerators in Scotland, including a major site just over the water in Grangemouth, and including a new incinerator in the Westfield masterplan will undermine recycling efforts in Scotland. I would urge the planning committee to ensure the final plans are truly sustainable and make full use of the capacity for clean, renewable energy production at the site".

He added: "I’m also concerned that there is no mention of community benefit in the proposals.

"According to Scottish Government guidelines, residents in Kinglassie, Ballingry, Scotlandwell and the surrounding areas should receive around £275,000 a year from Community Benefit funding, which will help mitigate the costs of having an industrial development as their neighbour

"In the last year over £12 million has been distributed to communities neighbouring renewable energy projects, which has been spent on local car and cycle share schemes, new community halls, and sports training facilities, amongst other projects.

"This money could be transformational for communities which have been badly impacted by generations of dirty extractive industry, but only if Fife Council ensures this is a condition of any future development on the site.”

Local resident, Louise Batchelor, from Scotlandwell said: “I am extremely concerned that this so-called green proposal includes a large incinerator and that the only access to the whole development will be along the road beside Loch Leven, meaning well over 1, 000 HGVs a day, six days a week. I welcome the idea of a genuine green energy park producing solar power but I fear that is not what we’re going to get.”

The planning application in principle is due to be decided upon by the Central Area Planning Committee on Monday. A further detailed planning application would need to be submitted before building work at the site could commence.

Mark Ruskell MSP and local resident Dave Batchelor are pictured at the Westfield site.