Protesters take Forth Bridge fight to UN over health fears

Published on Tuesday 24 February 2009 08:55

RESIDENTS living in the shadow of the planned new Forth crossing are preparing to take the fight to the United Nations, saying the heavy traffic could endanger the health of local communities.

The Scottish Government has re-routed the approach to the bridge to save an estimated 2 billion. Instead of going through farmland, the new dual carriageway will be within 100 metres of numerous homes.

Protesters say the new route could threaten the health of around 8000 people, as the pollution could increase the risk of cancer, asthma and other diseases.

Around 150 residents and community groups have registered objections with Transport Scotland, whose consultation officially closed yesterday.

An action group is also preparing a formal complaint about the health risk to the UN. They will appeal under the Aarhus Convention, which governs access to justice on environmental matters.

David Gargley, a shop manager who lives in Linn Mill, close to the approach to the bridge, said:

"My house is going to be just 110 metres from the proposed road to the bridge. But every resident in South Queensferry will be affected by the new infrastructure."

The original route had taken traffic straight across fields to join the M9. But now the road will curve around South Queensferry, joining the Scotstoun junction at the end of the new M9 spur. It will halve the estimated project cost.

David Steel, a Queensferry community councillor who lives near the planned approach road, said: "It's going to have a major impact on this area. There are a lot of houses that back on to it, and the effect is going to be massive."

John Carson, a retired civil engineer and founder of the Forth Tunnel Action Group, is preparing the complaint to the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

He said studies had shown that pollution from heavy traffic can damage the health of people living up to a kilometre away. He added: "The atmosphere can contain 5000 times the number of pollutants than normal. These increase the risk of asthma and cancer twofold."

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland said it would be analysing the effect of noise and pollution during the next stage of planning.

She added: "The new bridge together with the dedicated public transport corridor on the existing bridge will ensure the capacity to deal with the predicted future demand for cross-Forth travel."