Immediate action must be taken to secure the future of Grangemouth’s industry. Falkirk news councillors have warned, after Ineos announced the closure of another operation.
A motion that will go to Falkirk Council on January 30 was prompted by news of the closure of the ethanol plant at Grangemouth after more than 40 years in operation.
The SNP group on Falkirk Council is calling on the UK and Scottish Governments to provide reassurance about the future of industry in Grangemouth.
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The group hopes councillors across the political divide will support the motion as the latest announcement follows last year’s decision by Petroineos to close Scotland’s only refinery at the same site.
The council leader, Cllr Cecil Meiklejohn, says the council can play a role in bringing the two governments and private business together for urgent action to protect the wider economy as well as much-needed local jobs.
While much of the focus recently has been on the refinery, Cllr Meiklejohn says the latest announcement shows more attention needs to be on the wider chemical industry.
She said: “The closure of the ethanol plant coming on the back of the closure of the refinery gives us cause for concern around the whole of that industrial chemical manufacturing sector in Grangemouth.
“I want to get both governments round the table to highlight the importance of Grangemouth’s manufacturing chemical sector and demonstrate the advantages not just to Falkirk or the Scottish economy but to the UK economy that sector brings.”
In the motion, the SNP urges Council to agree “that the Leader should write to the Prime Minister and First Minister respectively to seek assurance about their governments’ commitment to manufacturing in Scotland the UK, and Grangemouth in particular, in relation to the critically important energy and chemicals industries”.
Cllr Meiklejohn said: “Ethanol is used to make plastics and that has been declining around the green agenda.
“But what hasn’t been put in is the ability and the tools to allow that sector to diversify.
“One area in particular that the refinery wants to diversify into is in aviation and biofuels, but that relies on regulations that are reserved to the UK government and it will be up to them to make the changes that will allow that innovative change to take place.”
Cllr Meiklejohn says Grangemouth has been given just a fraction of the money that Aberdeen received as part of its City Deal – the equivalent of Falkirk’s Growth Deal.
“We want to see the same levels of investment to allow that sector to diversify, to ensure we continue to sustain the Scottish economy but also the local jobs,” she said.
There are several major projects, including the Growth Deal, that are promising investment over the next ten years or so but Cllr Meiklejohn says the pace of change means the area can’t wait for these to start delivering.
“We need to be dealing with the here and now, as well as the future,” said Councillor Meiklejohn.
If agreed, the letters from Falkirk Council will also call for the Grangemouth Future Industries Board’s role to be reshaped “to deal with the here and now as well as future opportunities”, or for there to be a taskforce established urgently to focus on the immediate future of the wider Grangemouth Complex.
“We want the report to show how these projects are going to deliver for the area,” said Cllr Meiklejohn.
“A lot of this is in the gift of government and we need to get them round the table to have those really difficult talks and start to see actions that can make a real difference in the short term while these longer terms plans are developed further.”
The motion will be heard at a special meeting of Falkirk Council on January 30 in Grangemouth Community Education Centre, Abbots Road, Grangemouth, directly after the scheduled meeting which starts at 10 am. The meeting will also be livestreamed on Falkirk Council’s YouTube channel.
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