The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bid to tackle ‘Irn Bru’ burn part of opencast mine site regeneration
An orange-tinged Fife burn could run clear if the regeneration of the Westfield opencast site goes to plan.
Running through what was once one of Europe’s largest opencast coal pits, the Lochty Burn is contaminated with iron deposits.
The iron has turned the water bright orange and at times the burn has resembled Irn Bru.
Anglers have claimed the ferrous pollution is killing salmon in the River Leven.
The Lochty runs into the River Ore at Thornton, which in turn leads into the Leven.
Landowners Hargreaves are now working on a scheme to improve the water quality. They are planning to install reed beds at the site, which covers more than 1,000 acres west of Kinglassie.
Hargreaves regional director Philip Rayson said the reed beds will filter the water, removing the iron.
“When it goes out of the site, it will be going out cleaner than when it came in,” he said.
“That’s all fitting into the bigger scheme that Sepa are looking at in relation to the River Leven. There’s not much point in sorting out something downstream if you don’t have things in place upstream.
“The improvements to the Leven need to be looked at holistically.”
Hargreaves is also looking at options to alleviate flooding in the area.
After the storms of August last year, the Lochty Burn burst its banks. The impact on Kinglassie residents was devastating. Some people had to be rescued by boat as homes were deluged.
Mr Rayson said there were plans for something similar to a SuDS (sustainable drainage system) pond.
This would help prevent floodwaters from flowing into, and overwhelming, the Lochty Burn.
“We’re working with Fife Council and Sepa to see if we can do something on our land to create additional storage for floodwaters to provide a temporary solution to the flooding issue in Kinglassie whilst a long term sustainable solution is developed,” he added.
“If we can hold some water on site in what would effectively be a SuDS pond, that would hold back the peak flow during flood conditions.”
The next phase of the regeneration project will involve adding utilities and improving access roads.
Mr Rayson said infrastructure would be in place to welcome businesses to the site by October next year.
The site is being marketed to companies including those involved in recycling and food production.
It will be served by an energy-from-waste incinerator, for which Brockwell Energy has planning permission at the site.
A 30 megawatt solar farm is also in the pipeline.
But the incinerator plan has proved controversial.
Four neighbouring community councils objected to the plant.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell has also spoken out, stating non-recyclable waste should be reduced, not burned.
But Hargreaves maintains it has been working with local communities to develop plans for the area.
Mr Rayson said the regeneration of Westfield would include improving footpaths.
Coal mining activities at the site date back 150 years. There were deep coal mines there as early as the 1870s.
A map of the area from 1896 shows a railway line serving the site, the remnants of which still remain.
Mr Rayson said there had been talks with Network Rail about bringing this back into use.