Fife Council leader David Ross has said the local authority will do all it can to minimise the economic impact on both Fife and central Scotland of Longannet Power Station next year.
Mr Ross was left reeling by the confirmation that Scotland’s only coal-fired power station is to close on March 31, 2016, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
Longannet, which opened in 1972, is one of the biggest coal-fired power stations in Europe and employs more than 230 staff, although Scottish Power said it hoped to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Speaking shortly after news broke, Mr Ross said he was “deeply saddened” by the plant’s closure.
“Fife Council has been working hard with Scottish Power and the Scottish Government for a number of months in an effort to safeguard the future of Longannet and save jobs,” he said.
“Fife Council will support the people, communities and businesses impacted in any way that we can.
“I spoke with Fergus Ewing MSP, the Scottish Minister for Business, Energy and Tourism, about Longannet and I will be meeting with him and with Scottish Power on Monday to develop an action plan to minimise the economic impact on both Fife and central Scotland.
“We have agreed to establish a Task Force specifically focussed on Longannet in parallel with the Fife Task Force set up in the wake of the Tullis Russell redundancies.
“We campaigned to prevent Longannet from closing prematurely.
“Now that the closure has been announced, our key concern is supporting the 236 direct employees in considering future options.
“We will work with the Scottish Government as part of the multi-agency redundancy response team Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) to provide a tailored support package for employees.
“This has been highly effective in other closure situations across Fife in recent years.”
Mr Ross pointed out that more than 1,000 people could be affected in total, through direct employees and related supply chain workers, and said the council will make early contact with those companies in the Longannet supply chain to see how they can best be supported.
He added: “In the longer term we will work to support the creation of new jobs and business opportunities for West Fife and East Central Scotland to replace those lost at Longannet, and work with Scottish Power on reuse of the site.
“It is important that the Task Force makes rapid progress in order to provide the most effective support for the employees and communities affected by this regrettable closure.”
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