RESIDENTS of a Stirlingshire village who are facing bills of up to £100,000 to decontaminate their gardens of dangerous chemicals have welcomed news that the UK Government is to pay part of the bill.
Treasury officials revealed last night that £255,000 is to be provided to help clear up land in Blanefield, which has been found to contain traces of industrial pollution.
Resident Martin McGougan said the money, which will be given to the Scottish Government but ringfenced solely for use in the village, was a "massive step forward" in the fight to have the costs reduced.
He said: "This is great news and we are delighted to see action is being taken. I met Treasury officials and, although they gave an assurance it would be looked into, I did not expect an answer so quickly.
"The next step will be to hold a meeting of the residents' association and work out a way forward."
Homeowners in 13 properties face bills of between £14,000 and £102,000 to have the land made safe, with the total cost expected to be about £600,000.
The ground is the former site of the Blanefield Printworks, which closed more than a century ago, and it is thought the chemicals leaked into the ground from dye vats.
Problems have been exacerbated by a landfill tax that adds significantly to the overall clean-up costs, and residents had called on the Treasury to waive this part of the bill.
However, officials have instead announced a one-off payment and called on the Scottish Government to match the funding. Stirling Council has already offered £125,000 towards the costs.
Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander said: "I am pleased we are able to ringfence this funding for the residents of Blanefield. I hope the Scottish Government will also help to solve this problem, and that this can be resolved as soon as possible."
Stirling MP Anne McGuire pursued the issue with the Treasury after plans to help with costs were initially ruled out by Westminster.
She said: "This is fantastic news and a huge step forward to meeting the costs of the decontamination."
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford said it was a "real breakthrough" and he would be approaching Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney about the issue.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Landfill tax and the decision to exempt disposals of contaminated material is currently a matter for Westminster, which could simply exempt the residents of Blanefield altogether. The Treasury is expected to receive £300,000 from the residents of Blanefield and is simply giving them some - but not all - of that money back.
"The Scottish Government has worked with the residents of Blanefield and local MSP Bruce Crawford on this issue and we will continue to look at how the Scottish Government can assist in resolving the issue for Blanefield community."
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