Grangemouth residents call for investigation into lack of public spending

Grangemouth Community Council has asked Scotland’s national auditor to investigate the lack of public spending in the town and community, despite millions being promised to the area.

Members of the community council have written to Audit Scotland to share their concerns and ask the body to examine “chronic under-investment” in the town, which has higher-than-average levels of unemployment and poverty, lower-quality housing, and poorer health.

They have been told that the people of Grangemouth will benefit from the Growth Deal, funding for the Just Transition from fossil fuels to green energy and from the Green Freeport that is being created.

In a letter to Audit Scotland, the community council said it wants the auditors to examine how public funds have been allocated to Grangemouth in at least the past ten years, particularly with respect to community development, regeneration, and local services; whether the balance of public spending between industrial priorities and residential areas represents fair, effective, and equitable use of public money; whether relevant public bodies – including Falkirk Council, Scottish Enterprise, and the Scottish Government – are fulfilling their obligations to ensure fair and sustainable outcomes for the local community of Grangemouth.

The letter was agreed by members at one of the community council’s regular meetings, which are open to the public.

Grangemouth is a major location for industry, and the site of Scotland’s largest port is a key national economic asset, but the community council says that while residents live with the problems this creates, they do not get any of the benefits.

Instead, they say, infrastructure and housing stock need substantial improvement and there are few publicly funded initiatives to address the social and environmental impacts of living beside a major industrial zone.

The community councillors say that industrial and commercial priorities have been favoured over residents’ needs, including funds from programmes such as the Just Transition and the Falkirk & Grangemouth Growth Deal.

Four members of the Community Council spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service about why they had sent the letter, although they did not wish to be named.

“We have had our human rights sacrificed for industry and profit and we’ve had enough,” a spokesperson said.

“We now see Grangemouth as being in a social emergency and we are seeking accountability and that is now we are asking for an Audit Scotland review.”

Members of the group remember ten years ago, when the Future Grangemouth 2015-2025 Vision was intended to deliver substantial benefits.

Now in the final year, residents are finding it hard to see any tangible improvements it has delivered to the town.

“We have looked at what has happened over those ten years,” one member said.

“What we have seen is town centre regeneration in Denny, while Falkirk has seen Lint Riggs regenerated, while Cow Wynd, Vicar Street, High Street and Manor Street got £5 million for the Townscape Heritage Fund, then Newmarket Street got £800,000 regeneration, a new town hall is planned at £70 million with High Street improvement works of £2 million.”

The group now says that the much-talked-of benefits of Falkirk & Grangemouth Growth Deal are also looking more likely to benefit Falkirk, with the art park, skills transition centre, canal centre and transport hub all set to be based in Falkirk.

Grangemouth, they say, has been made “a lot of promises since 2013” that have not been kept.

“We do not grudge other communities the money that is being spent but it is highlighting the fact that there is nothing here,” they say.

Grangemouth has poverty levels that are almost double other parts of Falkirk so the group cannot understand why more funding does not reach the town.

The Community Council points to research from the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre (IDRIC) research, which emphasises the need for “stronger community engagement, fairer distribution of benefits and improved alignment between industrial planning and local health and wellbeing”.

With the end of the ten-year vision for Grangemouth comes the start of a new era, where the fossil fuel-dependent industries make way for greener opportunities.

But there is a real concern that any cash to help this transition will support industry, rather than local people, and while it may create jobs, they are unlikely to go to Grangemouth residents.

With so much funding available, members believe that a public audit will ensure transparency and accountability among those who make the decisions about where and how it is spent.

Audit Scotland has been approached for comment.