NEWS RELEASE
Monday 16th March 2009
Public meeting to scrutinise the case for the second Forth road bridge
This case will be discussed at a public meeting tomorrow evening (Tuesday 17th March). Speakers in favour and against an additional Forth Road Bridge will be putting their case forward and discussing whether the money politicians have allocated for an additional bridge could be better spent.
The public have been asked to express an opinion on minor details of an additional Forth Road Bridge, but those in power have never given the public the opportunity to discuss the big issues. The ForthRight Alliance will be giving the public the opportunity to discuss the big issues and explain to the public its case against the costly and unnecessary second Forth road bridge.
ForthRight Alliance chair Lawrence Marshall said:
"The reason for the Queensferry meeting is that many residents were shocked by the bridge exhibition recently staged by Transport Scotland. Queensferry & District Community Council is very concerned about the new routes which will bring noise and pollution much closer to the town, and has urged interested groups to respond through them. Our public meeting is an extension of that process and we aim to take the event to a much bigger venue in Edinburgh.
"The essential facts are that the bridge was sold on a misleading claim, that ministers could not be sure the cables could be repaired; the cables are now being dried out and this process has yielded encouraging results. In addition, the Chief Engineer said last year that he was highly confident that de-humidifcation would arrest the corrosion which was the only justification John Swinney gave for spending billions on a new bridge.
"The finance secretary keeps shifting the goalposts in order to justify a politically motivated project which will be a disaster. There has been little proper scrutiny of the plans by parliament so we are trying to provide that in our own way. We hope the public will demand proper explanations for the decision to replace the old bridge when the engineers don't think there's a problem with it. The money saved could be used to repair the cables and provide good public transport for all, not just motorists."
The meeting will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 17th March at South Queensferry High School Hall.
Speakers are:
Lawrence Marshall, Chair, Forthright Alliance
Patrick Harvie (Green), Glasgow list MSP & Convener of the Scottish Parliament's transport committee
Des McNulty (Labour), MSP for Clydebank & Milngavie, & Labour transport spokesman
Margaret Smith (Liberal Democrats), MSP for Edinburgh West
Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP (SNP), Lothians list MSP
Chair:
Rob Edwards, Sunday Herald Environment Editor
ENDS