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Westfield Development Centre
Gasification Plant (20th Century) - (20th Century)
Site Name Westfield Development Centre
Classification Gasification Plant (20th Century) - (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Coal Gasification Plant
Canmore ID 181555
Site Number NT19NE 71
NGR NT 1935 9816
NGR Description Centred NT 1935 9816
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/181555
- Council Fife
- Parish Portmoak (Kirkcaldy)
- Former Region Fife
- Former District Kirkcaldy
- Former County Kinross-shire
NT19NE 20 195 982
WESTFIELD OPENCAST
Location: near Cardenden
Other Details: Begun in 1955 on the site of the former Kirkness Colliery, production commencing in 1956. Produced 20,000 tons per week, 40% of Scottish opencast capacity at the time, said to be the biggest opencast site in UK, and claimed to be Europe's biggest hole. Had its own coal preparation plant. Experimental Lurgi plant [high pressure gasification process which converts coal into fuel gas] opened nearby in 1960 at Westfield.
M K Oglethorpe 2006.
Note (26 July 2024)
The Westfield Development Centre consisted of Operations Centre, two gasifiers, gas turbine, boiler house, scrab plant, coal stocks, contractor's compound, workshops, laboratory, admin buildings, first aid building, canteen, acid gas pilot plant, gas storage, by-products area, tar separator, cooling towers.
Information from Site Plan, c.1987 (see MS8271), added by M.McDonald, Heritage Research Service, HES, 26/7/2024.
