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MoD Dalgety Bay Proposals an “Insult to Fifers” According to MSP

dalgety-bay-cleanup

An MSP from Fife has hit out at the Ministry of Defence after a senior official proposed that Fife Council should help to pay for the cleanup work of MoD waste at Dalgety Bay. Annabelle Ewing, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife branded the attitude of the UK Government and MoD an “insult to Fifers”. The latest MoD position is set out in a letter in response to questioning from Ms Ewing on the issue and states:

“Whilst SEPA has confirmed its willingness to resume responsibility for routine monitoring once implementation is complete, there is also a need for a funding committment to maintain the sea defences. This would ordinarily and most appropriately fall to Fife Council.”

If there are extra costs for Fife Council in taking cleanup action on a problem that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) found was of the MoD’s making, this could potentially have an impact on public services for people in Fife and this has lead to an angry reaction from the SNP MSP.

Ms Ewing commented: “This letter is just the latest in a series of insults to people in Fife from the MoD.  The UK Government’s attitude on Dalgety Bay has been nothing short of disgraceful. People from across Fife will be wondering why the UK Government thinks that council funds – which should be spent on vital local services – should be spent clearing up the MoD’s mess.

“Residents of Dalgety Bay and Fifers from across the Kingdom have been waiting decades for this mess to be cleaned up – they simply shouldn’t have to wait any longer. The MoD can’t keep passing the buck on this issue – the UK Government need to take responsibility and fully fund the clean-up of Dalgety Bay immediately.”

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