Just Transition for the Grangemouth industrial cluster: discussion paper

Wider Context

As evidenced in the 2020 Grangemouth settlement profile, Grangemouth is a town of around c.16,000 people. It has communities that are in both the top and bottom segments of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. This suggests high degree of inequality in the local economy. It is possible that changes in scope of operations at the industrial cluster could affect households of different deprivation levels in different ways.

Evidence from the Grangemouth Community Action Plan provides an insight into some of the ambitions and concerns held by local community members including:

• That there are possibilities for good, well paid employment and that this is evident for younger people.
• There is a high presence of industrial activity, skilled and well-paid work but it is not necessarily accessible to the people of Grangemouth.
• There is an industrial presence; however, unemployment is high and the town centre is run down.
• It is difficult to access information about employment and training opportunities.

Previous community engagement by Falkirk Council has also highlighted a strong desire to re-establish local and national pride in the industrial strength of Grangemouth, focusing on how the cluster can provide enhanced life opportunities and positive destinations.

The cross-cutting impacts of transport in Grangemouth should not be ignored. As the location of our primary fuel production, the vision for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster must take into account the future requirements of the transport sector. Furthermore, Grangemouth also acts as a major logistics hub in Central Scotland, increasing the volume of through-traffic on the area, in addition to traffic generated by a lack of public transport from Falkirk High and Polmont Stations. These factors are likely to cause a range of impacts that are not yet fully understood, however the work to develop a Just Transition Plan for the Grangemouth Industrial Cluster must compliment that of the Transport Just Transition Plan, currently being developed.

The Forth Estuary provides the key spatial setting for the port of Grangemouth and the extensive area of industrial development around it. The Forth Estuary has lost nearly half of its valuable intertidal areas to historical land claim for agriculture, ports and other industrial activities. Despite this loss, the remaining large mudflats and associated saltmarshes of the inner Forth Estuary, including those adjacent to Grangemouth, have been accorded the highest level of legal conservation protection under both international and national conservation legislation. The intertidal areas are designated as a European Special Protection Area for the hundreds of thousands of resident and migratory wading birds and waterfowl that they support throughout the year. They are also part of a Ramsar designation for Wetlands of International Importance, and also receive legal protection through their national designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. As well as birds, these habitats also provide a home for huge populations of fish and invertebrates. The shallow, sheltered waters of the inner Forth Estuary provide a nursery area for the young of many commercially important sea fish species.