Fife Council has renewed calls for the Scottish Government to pay £9 million to fund the economy recovery plan created by the Longannet task force.The authority says rescue plans for other firms Halls of Broxburn and Tullis Russell in Fife should be matched at the power station.
The government’s refusal to release funds has led the authority’s depute leader to claim it may be because plans for the site possibly include the controversial practices of fracking and underground coal gasification (UGC).
Councillor Lesley Laird said in the past, money had been put on the table “no ifs, no buts” as “an appropriate response to an extraordinary event.”
She said: “It would appear that the closure of Longannet does not meet the yardstick of being an extraordinary event.
“We cannot believe the Scottish Government would turn its back on the communities who are left with a site that now requires significant decommissioning and restoration.
“While the current moratorium on fracking and UCG is in place, there is now a complete lack of clarity by the Scottish Government on their long-term intentions regarding UCG and fracking.
“Given their senior representatives’ reported meetings and activities with Ineos and combined with this sudden shyness on saying no to fracking or UCG, it may not be unreasonable to conclude that a reason that Longannet is getting no money now is because the Scottish Government plan to use the site for something else.
“And it may not be unreasonable to conclude that the something else might include fracking and UCG activity.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “No fracking can or will take place in Scotland while the Government’s moratorium on unconventional oil and gas remains in place.”