More than £3 million has been secured to regenerate the former Blair House opencast coal site near Oakley in Fife.

The site had previously been left derelict after the Scottish Coal Company went into liquidation in April 2013.

Following a legal battle in the Court of Session with the Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance PLC, over £3.1m has been recovered which will now allow plans to restore the site to progress.

Cllr Alice McGarry said the result was a "great outcome" for the environment, as well as the residents of Oakley and surrounding areas.

"In the coming months, Fife Council will work with the current site owners, MRL (Mines Restoration Limited), and the local Community Councils, to finalise the restoration plan and remove this unsightly and potentially dangerous site from the countryside," he said.


Scottish Mines Restoration Trust (SMRT) Chairman, Professor Russel Griggs OBE, said: "This is a very positive development for the future of Blair House and has the potential to have a significant impact on the site and the surrounding community.

"Our objective has always been to deliver a pragmatic approach to restoration. We're looking forward to working with all of the stakeholders involved to help facilitate a sustained programme of activity, which will incorporate significant land and environmental works.

"We are committed to working with Fife Council and the local community councils involved to finalise a restoration plan that makes best use of the available funds to improve the environment for local people."

Cllr Altany Craik added: "I am delighted at this news and look forward to the restoration of the Blair House site beginning as soon as possible. Fife Council's Legal and Planning teams have worked tirelessly over a number of years to secure this victory, which means that all three of Fife's opencast coal sites that were abandoned when the market for coal collapsed now have restoration budgets.

"St Ninians at Kelty has been restored and is in aftercare, the remediation of the Muir Dean site at Crossgates is nearing completion, and now we have much-needed funding to achieve the restoration of Blair House. This legal victory means that there will be no lasting environmental legacy in Fife arising from the coal market crisis of 2013."

(LM/MH)