The UK Government has committed up to GBP 9 million to support the future of the Mossmorran industrial site in Fife following the closure of its ethylene plant, with ministers pointing to its proximity to energy and defence industries as part of its investment potential.
The funding, announced by Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, is intended to help secure new commercial uses for the site and support the local economy and workforce. The investment is conditional on viable proposals being brought forward and suitable partners identified.
The announcement coincided with a meeting of a Fife Council-led taskforce, bringing together local authorities, employers and government representatives to coordinate support for affected workers and identify future opportunities for the site.
The UK Government said it has already taken steps to assist employees, including guaranteeing job interviews at the Grangemouth plant and extending training support schemes. It has also been marketing Mossmorran to potential investors, highlighting its industrial base, skilled workforce and location near major energy and defence facilities.
Douglas Alexander said: “The UK Government stands ready to invest up to £9 million in Mossmorran’s future. We know this has been an incredibly difficult time for the plant’s workers and their families… we are determined to do all we can to look after the plant’s workers, ensure a successful future for the site itself, and so mitigate the impact on the wider Fife community.”
The commitment builds on wider UK Government investment in industrial and maritime infrastructure in the region, including support for Rosyth Dockyard and the acquisition of Harland & Wolff by Navantia, which secured activity at its Fife yard. The Government said the aim is to attract new investment that can sustain employment and align the site with future industrial and energy opportunities in the region.
Image via Alexnoel66, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fortunately fife is a pretty dynamic and successful place with many successful manufacturing employers, it’s also benefiting massively from defence ship building at Rosyth and Methyl and it’s near by Edinburgh which is probably the most successful city in Britain.
There is also major work constructing the world largest wind farm just in the Firth of Forth. 400 jobs at Mossmorran is a tiny amount. It’s right the government is providing some assistance to repurpose the sight but unions and the SNP need to wind in the rhetoric. This is nothing like the death of the coal or steel industry and it was always going to happen.
Most of these fossil fuel facilities built in the 70’s lasted much longer than envisaged.
Problem is that we are giving away the ability to have a very high value supply chain of synthetic chemicals, by which I don’t just mean plastics but the speciality side which leads to research and pharma.