Carnegie reads that "ELECTRONICS manufacturer Cemtron’s bid to shut its three sites in Fife and move into the empty Lexmark factory could be scuppered by Fife Council. The firm wants to sell its Dalgety Bay site for housing and use the cash to buy the Rosyth plant, expand its business and bring in new jobs. But Cemtron’s current site, in Hillend Industrial Park, is zoned for employment use only and the fear is they will pull the plug on Scotland if they don’t get the green light."
Carnegie suspects the proposal is nothing short of economic blackmail: give us planning permission for a housing development or we will go elsewhere.
The view of Fife Council should be very simple. Consider the planning application as just that and nothing else. If it stands up and should be approved then approve it, but let's not give way to any developer or property owner trying to hold a gun to the Council's head, especially given the recent experience of Lexmark. It has after all been less than a year since Lexmark shut their former facility in Rosyth with the loss of 700 jobs. Perhaps we should be taking the promises of new jobs by any business with a big pinch of salt.
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