Millions of pounds will be required if Fife is to avoid the unsightly legacy of failed opencast coal mines, a senior MSP has warned.
Willie Rennie sounded the sombre warning after a report to East Ayrshire Council suggested around £27.6 million is thought to be in place to pay for work estimated at as high as £90m in that region.
The £60m shortfall was revealed following the liquidation of Scottish Coal in April at the cost of 600 jobs, including many in Fife.
Now Mr Rennie has called on Fife Council to assess the shortfall in the restoration bonds for failed Fife opencast coal mines.
The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats wants an assessment made of the shortfall in Fife.
He said: “Communities affected fear that they may be left with eyesores for years or even decades. Fife Council could aid the process of dealing with the legacies left by failed opencasts by assessing the shortfall between the value of the restoration bond and the cost of restoration.
“The Muirdean site at Crossgates is especially problematic with polluted water from the 18th century Fordell Day Level contributing additional costs to the operations.
“Those problems have been potentially exacerbated with the decision by Hargreaves not to buy the mine. There are commitments to construct the Charles Jencks-inspired land art at the St Ninian’s site at Kelty,” Mr Rennie said.
“The other major issue is the restoration of the Blair House site between Saline and Oakley. It is located very close to homes at Kineadar Park and overlooked by the village of Saline.
“Council leader Alex Rowley has been good at investigating the problems at these local mines. I am appealing to him for the council officials to assess the real shortfall.
“It is feared the restoration bonds will not be sufficient to cover the full costs of restoration. The sooner we know the full shortfall, the sooner we can seek to resolve these major problems.”
Last month liquidators admitted defeat in their efforts to sell a vast opencast mine in central Fife.
In what was the latest blow for the beleaguered coal industry, professional services firm KPMG confirmed on May 16 that work at Muir Dean, near Crossgates, had ceased and said all staff had been made redundant.
Muir Dean supported a total of around 100 employees and contractors just months ago but it is understood the workforce dwindled to single figures after owner ATH Resources fell into administration late last year.
The blow came just weeks after 590 workers, including 46 based at sites in Fife and Alloa, lost their jobs following the collapse of Scottish Coal.
Last month Mr Rowley said there were still questions to be answered over the operation of opencast mines in Fife. He expressed doubts about the level of restoration costs and whether the bonds in place would be sufficient for full restoration of the sites to a standard Fife should expect.
Yesterday Mr Rowley told The Courier: “Fife Council have called up the available bonds held in security to effect restoration for Muir Dean, St Ninian’s and Blair House opencast sites in Fife.
“Negotiations are now under way with the bond providers and we are hopeful that these negotiations will be concluded as quickly as possible. Discussions continue to take place with Sepa, the Coal Authority, landowners and Hargreaves, who have preferred bidder status over the sites.
“There are many outstanding questions in relation to the way sites have been managed and there is concern about any future consents.”