THE Ministry of Defence promised a “lot of activity” in the next fortnight in relation to the work to finally decontaminate Dalgety Bay’s beach – only to then admit they don’t have permission to remove any radioactive material.

The necessary permit, which normally takes four months to process, hasn’t even been applied for – which led local councillor David Barratt to accuse the government body of “incompetence” and misleading the townspeople.

After last week's South and West Fife area committee he said: “I am absolutely astounded by both the lack of progress by the MoD and their contractor but also by the lack of transparency from the MoD who appeared willing to lead the committee to believe things were generally on track.

“I am now concerned that insufficient progress is likely to be made this year.

“We are less than a month to when remediation work should have started but the four-months clock to receive the permit hasn’t even started.

“It’s yet more incompetence and almost certainly, yet more delay.”

Under its £10.5 million agreement with the MoD, Balfour Beatty will remove the radioactive pollution from the foreshore and install a Chernobyl-style concrete barrier over the affected areas, preventing further radiation from emitting.

Work was planned to start in Spring 2020 but there have been numerous delays, and it's now been pushed back again from next month to July 1.

Stephen Ritchie, from the MoD’s defence infrastructure organisation, told councillors at the committee meeting that the project was progressing “pretty much as planned”.

He said paperwork was “in place” and “continues to be taken forward” by the contractor, Balfour Beatty, and their sub-contractor.

Mr Ritchie added: “We’ve seen very little happening on the ground until now but, over the next two weeks, there will be a lot of activity with boats disappearing, cabins arriving, fences going up and a general feeling of Dalgety Bay Sailing Club moving from a leisure venue to a construction site.

“Things are moving forward pretty much as planned although there are still some issues to resolve with the SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) licence.”

He also said: “We will be on site this year and working to decontaminate the beach.”

Cllr Barratt pointed out that the MoD said last year that an application “had been made in November 2020, despite work having been due to start in April 2020” and asked if that had happened.

By this stage, Dr Paul Dale, from SEPA, had joined the online meeting and confirmed: “Balfour Beatty has yet to make an application to SEPA for a permit to undertake the necessary remediation works.”

Asked what impact this would have on the work, he replied: “They may be able to mobilise the site but the permit is in relation to the management of radioactive materials and radioactive waste that will be generated so they can’t undertake work with radioactive substances until the permit is in place.”

Dr Dale said the normal determination process for a permit takes four months – he said this was “well known” and a permit should have been applied for in December ahead of the proposed start in April – and that they had been engaging with Balfour Beatty every two weeks to ensure that, when it is submitted, they can try to deal with it in a shorter timescale.

Mr Ritchie admitted that was “the black and white of it” and added: “What Paul has said is accurate but I think the application for a licence maybe needs a bit of expansion.”

He went on: “Until they’ve got 100 per cent of everything, the application has not been made and that’s correct in that sense.

“However, Balfour Beatty and the sub-contractor have prepared a lot of information on their methodologies and various other trends that need to be followed through and Balfour Beatty have led me to believe they’re now in a position where they’ve got pretty much all of it sorted out, albeit late.

“They have some outstanding items they need to put before Paul to conclude the matter and make the formal application point and that date will be the one by which we’re measured against for a response.

“What he said was correct, it’s the nuances of the preparatory work in front that’s maybe missing from Paul’s comments. We just need to keep it moving forward as quickly as we can.”

A spokeswoman for Balfour Beatty said: “We are engaging with SEPA and discussions are ongoing.”

Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Neale Hanvey said: “Here we are once again with promises being made by the MoD only for it to emerge that crucial steps haven’t been taken to finally begin the beach clean-up at Dalgety Bay.”

A letter to him from Jeremy Quin MP, the UK government minister for defence procurement, said the relevant licences were applied for on November 20 last year.

Mr Hanvey added: “It turns out that was simply not true. And, once again, the MoD would like us to believe that it is everyone’s fault but theirs. I will write again to the minister to make it absolutely clear that the people of Dalgety Bay have been sidelined for too long.

“The beach contamination is the responsibility of the MoD, it’s high time they got their act together and dealt with this issue.”

As part of the preparatory works, trees will be cut back on The Wynd to allow larger vessels to be removed from the sailing club and for cabins to be delivered to the construction site where a compound is being created.

Concrete being pre-cast in Inverkeithing will be brought to Dalgety Bay by barge.