Fife Council announces re-opening date at Ladybank Recycling Centre after major fire

Fife Council has confirmed the facility will open its gates from Monday June 15.

All public recycling services at Lower Melville Woods will resume, and it will operate its normal opening hours, seven days a week.

From Monday, Cupar Household Waste Recycling Centre will also revert back to its standard opening days of Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The updates come as investigations into the £1million blaze continue.

Scotland’s environment watchdog is investigating “potential criminality.”

Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, confirmed this week that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has started its probe.

He said: “I understand the desire for as much information as possible to be made public as quickly as possible but I should highlight that the ongoing investigations potentially involve criminality and may result in enforcement action.”

The fire on May 14 involved recycled material and waste spread across an area measuring approximately 200m by 300m.

At the height of the incident, Scottish Fire And Rescue Service (SFRS) had 12 appliances, 60 firefighters, and specialist resources at the scene. Damage was put at over £1million. The site was returned to operators, Cireco, after 13 days.

Last week Mr Rennie put over a dozen questions to Kirsten Oswald MSP, the new Community Safety Minister, about the Lower Melville Wood fire and how the incident was handled. He also wants a public meeting.

Robin Baird, Chief Executive of Cireco said: "The site clear-up has continued at pace, and I’m pleased that we’re now in a position to reinstate access to the recycling centre from Monday. I’d like to thank our staff and partner agencies for their continued support. We’re also grateful to the public for their patience while this work has been carried out."

"We continue to work closely with SEPA and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to assist with their investigations."