Residents grill GFG boss over alloy factory impact

CONCERNS over housing, transport and schools were in the spotlight on Monday night as residents in the Kilmallie area grilled the head of GFG Alliance’s estate and public officials about the impact of the new alloy wheels factory to be built in Fort William.

Almost 40 people attended a special Kilmallie Community Council (KCC) meeting to pose questions to Duncan Mackison, chief executive officer of Jahama Highland Estates, the property arm of GFG Alliance, which owns the Lochaber smelter.

A raft of concerns were raised at the meeting, with issues ranging from housing and school pressures to the storage of gas at Corpach.

Mr Mackison was also joined at the meeting by Alastair Nicolson, Lochaber programme manager for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), and Tim Stott, principal planner at Highland Council, to give an update on developments after the factory plans were approved earlier this year.

With the new factory set to employ up to 400 workers and production due to start in 2020, an overarching issue at the meeting was whether Lochaber would cope with the influx of so many new people and their families.

In terms of housing, the panel confirmed that around 300 houses would need to be built in the area, with Blar Mhor one of the main areas earmarked for development.

Mr Stott outlined that the initial phase of building would include 80 or 90 houses on Blar Mhor, with further phases of construction taking this total to 200.

However, Lochaber Housing Association board member Alex Farquhar voiced concerns over the construction timeframe.

‘If the factory is going to be up and running in three to four years, all these properties will be built in a very short time,’ he said.

‘I know there’s the will to do it but I don’t think there’s the infrastructure to do it.’

Mr Mackison responded by saying that GFG was working on solutions to carry out the necessary building works and that ‘the scale of activity will require a different model, something that this area hasn’t seen before’.

The issue of school numbers was also raised by those attending, with Mr Stott explaining that, although some existing schools had the ability to expand, the council would need to look at ways to increase capacities.

He said: ‘We’ve looked ahead to see how many new houses will be built and projected existing primary and high school numbers and there is an issue. The current schools won’t cope initially.’

Transport links and networks also dominated the evening’s discussions amid fears of another summer of severe traffic congestion in Fort William.

Once fully operational, seven or eight lorries a day are expected to leave the factory, which Mr Mackison says may pose a challenge around peak traffic times with commuter traffic.

One frustrated Corpach resident questioned whether the roads could cope and called for immediate action.

‘You really are underestimating how difficult it’s going to be to get around,’ he said. ‘The first thing you need to do is sort the roads before you try to build anything.’

The future of the port at Corpach was also discussed at the meeting, with the panel suggesting there was potential for it to be used to transport, and possibly store, liquefied natural gas for use at the smelter.

The panel confirmed that an engineering study, led by Highlands and Islands Enterprise with support from Liberty, had been commissioned which would explore whether a deep-water port could be developed at Corpach.

‘There is quite a lot of work being done in the background but if it looks feasible then there would be a full masterplanning exercise of the entire area which would require much wider consultation,’ Mr Nicolson added.

However, a Drumfada resident, who lives directly opposite the harbour area, said he had ‘real concerns’ over shipping and storing liquefied gas at Corpach. ‘Storing high pressure liquefied gas as close to the accommodation of as many people as that?

‘I am starting to get anxious already,’ he said. ‘I have concerns about this situation.’

Mr Nicolson said that these issues would be addressed in the port study and again in any future public consultation.