Longhill Park

With Longhill Park in Dalgety Bay such a popular open space and surrounded by residential property, it is a regular subject of conversation with constituents, particularly relating to maintenance of trees. Like much of Dalgety Bay, the park is maintained but not owned by the Council, which restricts what the council can do. The Council is in the process of trying to identify the owner but this process can be complex. As well as requests relating to tree maintenance, we have also received requests for improved litter picking and greater provision of bins and benches.  We have followed up on each of these issues and there has been an improvement in litter issues. We have sought possible sources for benches but with no spare benches within the council and without extra spending, it is proving difficult. We are exploring the option of benches being funded through sponsorship or donations as a memorial and would welcome residents views on this approach.

Donibristle industrial estate

Fife Council is seeking planning permission to provide 6 single storey business units on the site of the old Havelock building within the Donibristle Industrial Estate.  The investment aims to meet demand for small to medium size business expansion in the area and it a positive step forward for the industrial estate. We are hopeful of further investment in the industrial estate in the coming months.

RBS mobile bank

RBS have issued a new timetable effective from May for their mobile banking service which parks at Tesco in Dalgety Bay and the Train Station in Aberdour. It is disappointing that the new timings see a slight reduction in the time spent in each location.

Mondays – Dalgety Bay on from 13:00-14:15

Fridays – Aberdour 10:00-10:45, Dalgety Bay 11:05-12:05

Donibristle Primary

Following complaints surrounding lunch provision and dining arrangements at Donibristle Primary, Cllr. Barratt attended the school over lunchtime to observe the issue first hand. Following this, he attended the Parent Forum where the matter was discussed further. Part of the issue had been specific items running out meaning adequate choice was not provided. This should now be resolved. The more significant issue has been with adequate space for dining.  It is clear the best solution would be an extension to the dining hall and we are pursuing the feasibility of carrying this out. In addition to the dining issue, the school’s Internet service and gritting of surrounding paths was raised. We are pursuing both. Despite the significant work carried out by Virgin media over the last year, it seems the school was not included. We are seeking to have this rectified.

A921 flooding

Transportation Officers are aware of concerns about flooding in a number of sections along the A921 and are monitoring the situation. The exact cause has not yet been assessed but this will be done in the coming months.

Leisure centre crèche

Following the investment in the Dalgety Bay sports and Leisure Centre noted in our last update, works are now underway to expand the offering at the centre.  As the works began, concern was expressed that the crèche operated at the centre on Mondays to Wednesdays from 09:30-11:30 was to close. Following this concern being expressed, Cllr. Barratt met with Wendy Watson, the Chief Operating Officer of the Fife Sports and Leisure Trust to discuss crèche provision and to better understand proposed changes. It was confirmed that the Trust has operated five crèche services across their facilities including the drop in crèche at Dalgety Bay but that discussions are underway to change how some of these are operated and to end provision in Dalgety Bay. While disappointing, the change is in the context of reduced funding and a year on year decrease in uptake of the service.

Officers’ Mess update

Demolition of the old officers’ mess on Ridge Way has now been completed and the site is expected to be available for industrial development soon. Some residents were understandably unhappy that a building of local historic significance has been lost, but as the site was not listed it was not in the council’s power to prevent the demolition on these grounds. We have worked with the owner of the site and the demolition contractor to save key items including the internal murals and stone crest.  Unfortunately and despite best efforts, the murals were not salvageable due to their brittle condition.  It was however possible to save the stone crest which was successfully removed by the contractors and has been donated to the Air Cadets.  We have since been in contact with Historic Scotland to enquire about the historic value of other wartime features in Dalgety Bay, including the former camp where a number of business units and the air cadets are now based.  Historic Scotland confirmed their designations team had visited the former camp buildings but concluded they do not meet the criteria for listing. Of more significance, Historic Scotland has decided to designate the Downing Point Artillery Battery as a Scheduled Monument. Built in 1914, the remains formed part of the inner defensive lines for the Firth of Forth have been deemed nationally important.

Fulmar Way planning

The West Planning Committee at its meeting in April refused the Planning application for houses on the Industrial Estate between Fulmar Way and Otterston Grove. This application had controversially been approved some time ago but one of the conditions required the developers to produce a noise mitigation scheme that would protect residents from noise from existing businesses in the Industrial Estate – and also protect these businesses from noise complaints from residents.  Despite a number of efforts to come up with an acceptable noise mitigation scheme, none of these managed to attain the level of mitigation required and the Planning Committee agreed to the Officers’ recommendation to refuse the Planning Application. The Developers are still able to appeal to the Reporter.

Jubilee Park

Plans for the new Jubilee Play Park opposite Dalgety Bay Primary school are advancing with the Play Park Group refining the design and costs and the council continuing to negotiate with Barratt Homes who own the land.  Barratt Homes have been frustratingly slow to agree for the land to be transferred to the council but we are hopeful that this can be finalised in the very near future.

Mossmorran flaring

Since flaring last summer, SEPA have been conducting an investigation into the series of events, which caused significant concern in the communities surrounding the Shell and Exxon Mobile operations. The SEPA investigation concluded in April by issuing the plant operators a final warning.  The investigation concluded the flaring was unplanned, could have been prevented and went on for too long while noting the use of occasional flaring remains an appropriate and necessary management practice in exceptional circumstances. The notice requires the operators to take action to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence and varies the permit under which the plant operates.

SEPA have also noted that while evidence to date suggests no negative impact on air quality to the local communities, they will be implementing increased levels of monitoring over the next few months to ensure assessments of air quality are as accurate as possible. In addition to this, the Mossmorran and Braefoot Bay Independent Air Quality Review Group, on which Cllr. Barratt sits, has discussed the increasing the group’s scope to include wider environmental impacts such as vibration.