Community group to boycott ‘politicallymotivated meeting’

Mossmorran: Action group claim meeting designed to uphold status quo

A meeting to review monitoring of the Mossmorran plant and its communication with the public will be boycotted by a community group.

Mossmorran Action Group (MAG) has claimed the talks arranged by Labour MP Lesley Laird are politically motivated and designed to shore up the status quo.

The list of attendees includes representatives from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Fife Council and the Mossmorran independent monitoring committee, but no other politicians.

Friday’s meeting in Mrs Laird’s Kirkcaldy office was called to determine whether improvements could be made to the work of the committee and to the way operators of the plant communicate with their neighbours.

James Glen, of MAG, said: “Once again what is supposed to be an open discussion with the community has turned into a cosy get-together behind closed doors between operators and regulators.

“Since 1985 when Mossmorran opened, the authorities, including local politicians, have colluded with the operators to play down how pollution, noise, vibration and light emissions from the plant are harming the health and well-being of neighbouring communities.”

Green MSP Mark Ruskell said he was disappointed a meeting had been convened “excluding” MSPs.

Mrs Laird said that the attendance details had only been finalised on Monday, adding: “We tried to contact Mr Glen to appraise him of this situation but he has not responded.”

She continued: “It is our intention to organise further meetings, which will include full cross party representation, as undoubtedly the issues which have been raised in connection to Mossmorran will require short, medium and long term support, not least of which may be to bring through legislative changes which may be required in future.

“We are disappointed to hear that Mossmorran Action Group don’t wish to take advantage of this opportunity and hope that they may yet reconsider their position, ensuring that the community voice is represented.”

Concerns about the impact of Mossmorran were reignited by prolonged, unplanned flaring last summer.

The practice is part of the plant’s safety mechanism.

Operators regularly stress that testing by Fife Council’s independent air quality monitoring review group has consistently concluded it poses no significant risk to health.

Picture: Steven Brown. Mossmorran has been the subject of many complaints in the past year.

Labour MP Lesley Laird hopes the Mossmorran Action Group will reconsider its decision to stay away from the meeting.