Notes of a meeting between Forth Ports and representatives of BHAT, Burntisland Community Development Trust and Burntisland Community Council on 5th October 2022:
Forth Ports are waiting to hear if their bid to set up a green freeport has been accepted and are expecting a decision within 2-3 weeks. They gave the impression that they’re confident of getting it. They anticipate that most activity would be centred on the West Dock but the East Dock would be available if needed as a “complementary” area. Existing tenants will retain access under the terms of their leases/agreements.
Burntisland will be used as a Facilitation Area for development of the proposed Forth Ports Green Port initiative if awarded i.e., Burntisland will not be able to access Forth Ports funds for development but will become a customs site should Forth Ports be successful and third parties wish to develop a bonded warehouse.
The projects which were described appear to be too large to fit into the East Dock area; however, these projects would also be considered for the West Dock, whilst smaller support businesses may be located in the East Dock.
You’ll see from the link that Fife Council is part of the bid consortium. You might wonder how the Council was able to make an objective decision about allowing the harbour to be fenced off when it had a vested interest…
Forth Ports admitted that the freeport has been under discussion with the Council for at least two years but said that they have been unable until now to keep the community informed because it’s been commercially sensitive, with non-disclosure agreements having been signed. They will now be happy to meet periodically.
We proposed that passes could be issued for entry to the public, like at other freeports, but they flatly rejected this using health and safety as the reason.
What a freeport would mean for the town, such as employment, is anyone’s guess at this stage. The prospect of increased HGV passage through the town was raised, to which their response was that in another of their ports a development was turned down for that reason.
If their freeport bid is unsuccessful, they said they will be looking to develop the land anyway.
The new gates will be operational as soon as the equipment is ready. The fence and gate across the breakwater will be moved to the position shown on the plans attached to the Listed Building Consent, i.e. to align with the fence along the eastern end of Scotts Pallets. This means that only the first 30 metres or so of the breakwater will be accessible.
The demolition of the Butters Bros crane that fell into the dock had the ok from Fife Council, but Forth Ports admit the lifting derrick on Shanks’ Pier shouldn’t have happened. Fife Council has asked for a retrospective Listed Building Consent application or for it to be reinstated.
We pointed out that they would need to be mindful of Listed Building requirements when planning any development, which they acknowledged.
We asked about the land immediately below and in front of row of houses at South View, which is outside the fence and is currently used by walkers to allow a circular route to and from the entry to Lammerlaws. Could this area be excluded from any future development? They stated that they would take this into consideration and it could be discussed at a future meeting, but there are no guarantees that it won’t be required at some point.
They acknowledged the existence of the old document granting rights to Burntisland residents to use the outer harbour but stated that it was written in an ancient dialect that doesn’t translate well and nobody could understand it. If anyone knows anything about this please let us know.
They said they will take responsibility for clearance of litter on site and along seaward side of breakwater.
They and their lawyers felt that the Ministers’ decision to grant the community right to buy if the harbour is ever put up for sale was wrong (we don’t agree of course) but they decided not to appeal as they are adamant that the right will never be triggered as “Forth Ports don’t sell land”.
Well…they have sold land in the past and with the current very unstable political and economic situation, which may continue for some time, things may change. And let’s not forget that we also have our right to buy registered over the land owned by Network Rail, which stretches eastwards from the railway station to the access road where it joins Lammerlaws Road.
We’re not giving up – we’re in for the long haul – and we very much appreciate the town’s continued support. Please consider becoming a member of the Trust (it’s free!) if you haven’t already done so please come along to our AGM at the Sands at 6.30pm on Nov 2nd.