Statement made by Councillor Eric Drysdale, Convener of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee, at the start of the committee meeting on 5 February 2025.
I would like to address the understandable concerns raised by many residents of Perth and Kinross regarding the fires at the waste management site on Shore Terrace, Perth, and their impact on the Friarton Road Bridge and local residents.
The most recent fire, in the early hours of 14 January, was the third to happen on the site, with the previous fire - in February 2023 - resulting in the tragic death of a worker on the site.
All of the incidents were related to lithium battery fires.
On this most recent occasion local residents again faced having to take action to prevent the risk of smoke getting into their properties, added to which local roads and the city centre became badly congested as a result of diverted traffic from Friarton Bridge which had to be closed for 10 hours. This also caused significant disruption to school transport, leaving pupils, including some due to sit exams, stranded for a lengthy period. And of course, the bridge itself is an integral component of Scotland's road network and its necessary closure will have caused widespread disruption to very many road users from across Scotland.
In my view, this is an unacceptable situation which must be urgently addressed to find solutions which minimise any risks in the future.
Perth and Kinross Council does not have a role in granting or reviewing the licence for waste management on the site, or for inspecting the fire safety arrangements on the site.
Nor can we change or influence the use or disposal of lithium batteries, although the use, recycling and storage of these is currently under review at a national level.
However, we do understand and share the concerns of our residents who are seeking reassurances about how fires at the site can be prevented in future. And, as representatives of the community we are committed to advocating for the safety and wellbeing of our residents.
To this end we are inviting representatives of site operators ENVA and lead agencies SEPA, the Health and Safety Executive, Transport Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland to meet with the Leader of the Council, local parliamentarians, council officers and myself as soon as possible to seek reassurances, to understand what action can and will be taken to prevent such incidents from recurring and to ensure effective collaboration across all agencies.
We shall keep members of the public, this committee and ward councillors informed of the outcome of these discussions.
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