STONE from quarries will be transported around the UK by rail from the former Kincardine Power Station site despite residents' concerns about dust clouds.

Fife Council approved a planning application from Tillicoultry Quarries to re-use the brownfield site so they can store aggregate there and open up old sidings to send it by train instead of HGV.

Kincardine Community Council opposed it, describing the proposed dust management plan as "woefully short" of what was needed and fearing a repeat of the ash clouds from the old Longannet Power Station that affected the town in 2017.

There were seven other objections, with concerns about air quality, noise, an increase in traffic, road safety, flood risk and light pollution, but councillors on the west and central planning committee gave the plans the green light.

The firm will reinstate the railway sidings that remain, and add new ones, and put up an aggregate storage building, a welfare building, loading area and car parking at the site, which is to the west of Kincardine.

Tillicoultry Quarries will transport aggregate around the country by rail from the Kincardine site. Tillicoultry Quarries will transport aggregate around the country by rail from the Kincardine site. (Image: Google Maps) READ MORE: One week to save Dunfermline DIY store

The preferred route for lorries going to and from the site will be via the Clackmannanshire Bridge and Gartarry Roundabout, rather than through the town, but there was nothing to ensure drivers complied.

Around one to two trains would be loaded per week, equating to somewhere between 94,000 to 180,000 tonnes per year.

The coal-fired power station, off Hawkhill Road, began generating electricity in 1958. Operations ceased in 1997 and it was demolished by 2001.

The land, owned by Scottish Power, has remained vacant ever since.

The plans were first tabled in March 2023. Tillicoultry Quarries will put two sensitive receptors within 250 metres of the site boundary and monitor dust levels daily.

If a complaint is received they said they will respond within 24 hours.

However, the community council said: “The dust complaint management is woefully short of anything that is acceptable, 24 hours to deal with dust clouds is preposterous, as history in the Valleyfield area tells us." 

The community council said there should also be compensation for residents who are affected by dust contamination, citing the example from Longannet.

Between April 11 and May 5, 2017 dust from the ash lagoons at Low Valleyfield was blown into local communities, covering homes, businesses and cars and prompting a school to keep pupils indoors amid fears for their health.

It was a breach of Scottish Power's permit and, after discussions with the regulator, Sepa, they agreed in 2022 to pay £100,000 to affected communities.

Cllr Dave Dempsey asked if the planning conditions could be amended to include additional measures suggested by the community council, such as a dust check area, various sensors and a revised complaints procedure.

Planning manager Mary Stewart responded: "On what basis? Given that the current proposed dust management plan is deemed to be adequate in terms of protecting residential amenity, there's no basis to require anything other than that."

Other members of the committee suggested the company could set up a liaison committee, to improve communication with local residents.

Tillicoultry Quarries have been in business since 1931, they have 22 quarries and plants across the UK, and supply a wide range of construction materials to help build and maintain Scotland's roads, buildings and infrastructure.