Letter to Editor - Cumnock Chronicle

I refer to the article within the Cumnock Chronicle dated 28^th November 2018 in relation to the Council's decision to issue a Planning Enforcement Notice on the current landowner of the former Dalfad Open Cast Coal site which was operated by the Scottish Coal Company Ltd up until April 2013 when the operator and land owner of the site went into liquidation.  The proposed article relies on information taken from the Planning Report which was considered by the Planning Committee on the 23^rd November 2018.  The full report can be accessed on the Council’s website. 

However, the information presented within the article on pages 1 and 8 of the newspaper does not fully represent the context of the planning report and therefore further clarification is necessary to accurately reflect the current position.  As noted above the landowner and site operator were subject to liquidation proceedings during April 2013. KPMG as liquidator sold a number of assets within the Scottish Coal portfolio, but due to the health and safety, water management and financial restoration liabilities with a number of sites within East Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and Fife could not be sold as an asset.  As a consequence of the liquidation of the coal companies in 2013 the Scottish Government intervened and set up a Task Force and in doing so set up the Scottish Mines Restoration Board (SMRT) as an independent non-profit making organisation, whose role is to offer advice, expertise and where appropriate funding to facilitate the plans for restoration of derelict sites.  SMRT set up Mines Restoration Limited (MRL) as a charity to take ownership of the remaining sites within Scotland from KPMG.  As part of this process MRL took ownership of sites at Dunstonhill, Ponesk, Spireslack, Powharnal and Dalfad within East Ayrshire to work with the Council to secure restoration solutions on a site by site basis.  To date utilising restoration bond monies site reclamation has been carried out successfully at the former open cast coal sites at Dunstonhill, Ponesk and Spireslack with ongoing restoration evident at Powharnal. 

At the sites at Dunstonhill, Ponesk and Spireslack the Council has worked with MRL to seek restoration solutions to the various challenges.  The model for this revised restoration scheme was to issue on each occasion an Enforcement Notice on the relevant landowner with a secured financial restoration budget in place by the Council to ensure that the works specified within the Enforcement Notice would be completed by the appointed contractor and assessed for compliance by the Council’s Independently Mining Engineers.

The works at the Dalfad site will utilise a similar enforcement model to ensure that the various challenges within the site will be mitigated and that the landscape is re-contoured to a natural form.  The proposed restoration works will utilise a local work force whereby MRL are successfully restoring the land within the Powharnal site as can be viewed from the A70.  

In conclusion, and contrary to the emphasis suggested within the article, MRL as current landowner is not responsible for the inactions of Scottish Coal in failing to comply with the planning consent at any time before the liquidation and MRL have been working with the Council to secure a viable restoration scheme that will manage the inherent risks of an abandoned open cast coal site to ensure that the final restored site can be brought back into use for farming, agriculture and recreation.

Michael Keane, Head of Planning & Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council