HOPEFULLY all the community councils in the area will be involved in the meeting this week which is geared to devising a strategy to approach the operators of the Mossmorran petro-chemical site for compensation for the effects that flaring has had on communities surrounding the gas plants.

Over the past 35 years there have been times when flaring has been a major issue, with both the Fife Ethylene Plant and the Shell NGL operation having to use the safety mechanism.

More recently it has been the ExxonMobil FEP which has caused the most concern to the people of Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly and the surrounding villages.

2019 was probably the worst ever year with several periods of intense flaring and it led to a public meeting which attracted over 200 people, held at Lochgelly Town Hall.

The concern has led to this Thursday's meeting, called by Fife Council for the Maxwell Centre in Cowdenbeath, which will see all the community councils, of settlements surrounding the site, getting the chance to look at ways of seeking compensation for the light, noise and other concerns communities have suffered.

What is needed to make this all work is a united front by the community councils and a reasoned approach to the companies.

Clearly this is all about a community method to the situation, and the beliefs that he way to make this all take shape is by having a community fund, if the companies agree to the approaches, is clearly the best way ahead.

The Windfarm Community pots work well and this would see the various community councils be able to get an annual or bi-annual contribution from it which would allow them to back local causes.

All this is for the future though. The important thing is that the community councils of Cowdenbeath, Crossgates, Kelty, Hill of Beath, Lochgelly, Lumphinnans, Benarty, Cardenden and Auchtertool, are all there to explore the right way to deal with an issue that is important to the towns and villages.