Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 4:10pm

Westfield green plan could create new jobs

by Andrew Cowie

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An aerial shot of the Westfield site.

THE former opencast mining site at Westfield could become a green business park, Cowdenbeath Area Committee heard.

The committee was told that Westfield, between Ballingry and Kinglassie, was a considerable site with significant investment needs and had been basically derelict since the end of opencasting..

A report before councillors stated that the entire site occupied some 392 acres and had been subject to opencast mining and associated operations since the 1950s and was consequesntly in the need of significant restoration work.

The report said, "It has been the long term objective of this council and its predecessors to rehabilitate Westfield until now without any realistic prospect of success.

"The development of a green business park on a 65 hectare area of the Westfield site would not only provide an appropriate facility for the rapidly emerging environmental industries sector, it would also provide an ideal vehicle to enable restoration of the site.

"In April 2008 a Westfield Green Business Park feasibility study was completed which considered constraints and opportunities associated with the site and the green business part development proposal encompasses a range of uses including materials recycling, waste treatment, renewable energy technologies and related developments.

"Proposed biomass and windfarm developments for the site could offer the the opportunity for electricity and the supply of surplus heat to other potential site users.

"This areas of Fife has not been successful in attracting significant new jobs and investment and the green business park proposal offers an opportunity for the Westfield area to secure both jobs and investment in a key industry sector which is forecast to grow globaly to £5.2 billion by 2016."

The report added, "To achieve the successful delivery of the green business park project it is proposed that a business case is developed which explores potential development agreement models and links a percentage of the income generated from future investment success directlty to the restoration of the entire site.

"It is anticipated that a delivery of advance infrastructure on this substantial site will require a multi-million pound investment. A partnership funding approach involving public and private sector support will therefore be explored in addition to ERDF funding for further support for the long term development of the project." The report made it clear that if Fife Council did nothing an important opportunity to attract new investment from the growing environmental sector would be lost.

A partnership approach could see Fife Council work with the land owners, the Scottish Resources Group, to create the green business park.

Concluded the report, "The project would allow this relatively deprived area of Fife to secure significant new green jobs and investment within a rapidly emerging industry sector and at the same time allow the council to play a greater role in accelerating remediation at the site."

Councillor Alistair Bain asked what was happening with the wind turbine electricity generation plans earmarked for the site and was told that these were currently subject to an objection from users of the airfield at Glenrothes.

Councillor Margo Doig said, "This huge hole in the ground has dominated this part of Fife for four decades.

"Anything that can be done to get rid of the desolation would be warmly welcomed and if jobs follow that would be great news."

Committee chairman Councillor Willie Clarke said, "The two massive opencast sites which have dominated land in our area at St Ninians, Kelty, and Westfield could be hugely exciting for the future.

"The land art plans for St Ninians and green business park proposals for Westfield could bring a lot of jobs to the local economy."

The committee backed the recommendation that the council work with the Scottish Resources Group and develop a strategy to progress the necessary infrastructure and other works to take the site to market and create jobs and investment for the area.