THE company chosen to dismantle Longannet Power Station has asked Fife Council for a screening opinion before starting work on the Kincardine site.  

Brown and Mason Limited (BAM) have been appointed by Scottish Power to demolish and raze the majority of buildings, as well as the power plant building itself and chimney stack.

Longannet closed in March 2016 with the loss of 230 jobs - it's thought up to 1,000 indirect jobs have been lost and the cost to the local economy has been put at £50 million - and the demolition process is expected to take four years to complete.

In a letter to Fife Council, BAM state their belief that the process would not be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

It states: “As the council will be aware, EIA development is development that is 'likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors as its nature, size or location'.

“As will be demonstrated by this screening report, no significant effects on the environment are predicted by the proposed development.

"That being the case, it is considered that the proposed development is not EIA development, a screening opinion to that effect may be adopted, and PDR may be used.”

The project commenced on February 6 and demolition requires removal of all asbestos-containing materials, removal of all plant, demolition of identified buildings and auxiliary structures, removal of services and grading of ground levels across the site.

All demolition operations will be undertaken exclusively within the existing site area.

Longannet was built and commissioned during the mid-to-late 1960s and occupies around 200 hectares of land.

Road access is via the main gatehouse located off the Kincardine to Dunfermline road (A985).