Burntisland residents praying for silent night

Rig operators Paragon Offshore are set to have a deck generator and transformer taken to the rig, which is half a mile off the coast of Burntisland, in a bid to cut a low humming noise which residents say is keeping them awake.

The equipment was being transported from England and was expected to arrive yesterday (Wednesday), giving those affected hope that the issue which has been going on since October, will soon be solved.

The new generator and transformer will operate during night-time hours, with the main generator running during the day to operate the cranes and other machinery, but the operators say this will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Another Scottish local authority which experienced similar problems said the provision of deck generators had proved a successful solution.

And Councillor George Kay, who has been trying to help his constituents get some peace from the outset, says he hopes it will work this time.

“I really do hope this works and the 20 odd constituents whose sleep has been disturbed for weeks now will see some relief at last,” he told the Press.

“The last thing that they tried, putting a baffle around the generator seemed to reduce the noise, but there were still people who could hear it at night time, some to the extent that it was keeping them awake.

“I will be monitoring the situation to see if this is successful.”

He also hit out after a request for contact details for the rig operators from Fife Council’s environmental health officers was denied, while a request to attend a meeting was ignored.

“I had asked if I could attend the meeting to try to address the ongoing noise concerns, but this was ignored. Then, when I asked for contact details, I was told they couldn’t do this because of “data protection issues.”

“As an elected member for the area I find this almost unbelievable,” he said.

“If Fife Council is neither able nor willing to assist me in that task then I will have to find some other means”

Linda Turner, service manager with the environmental health department, said: “An initial solution to baffle the noise was not as successful as hoped and they have given us an assurance that they are looking at this alternative solution as a matter of urgency. I’d like to reassure local people that we will take appropriate action if this does not happen.

“All elected members in the area are being kept up to date with progress as soon as it happens.”