'Eyesore' bridge toll booth wins backing

RESIDENTS are set to lose their battle against the Forth Road Bridge's new toll booth plaza, after planning officials backed the FETA development.

A modern canopy above the booths - part of 5 million worth of works - is the subject of a retrospective planning application after it was erected 15 metres from where it was supposed to be built. The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (FETA) said it had to be sited south of the old booths so they could continue be used while the replacements were under construction.

Planners have now recommended councillors approve the development, despite 49 letters of objection from neighbours living in the adjacent Stoneyflatts estate in South Queensferry.

Residents say the new booth is already causing light pollution at night and is an eyesore.

They claim that if it had been built on the site of the original booths, it would not be seen from their homes. David McGuinness, 49, a company manager, said locals feared the structure would cause the value of their properties to plummet.

"There is a problem among the residents with the size of the thing," he said.

"When you come along to our cul-de-sac you see a great big canopy. I can't for the life of me work out why it is that large.

"I was on the M6 toll road the other day where there are about double the number of toll booths, but there's no canopy like this.

"One or two people in the street have had perspective buyers come to see their homes but they don't like the look of the canopy and we're concerned it will devalue the houses."

Another resident, Martin Gallagher, said that before the canopy was built the toll plaza was almost unnoticeable from Stoneyflatts Crescent and that there was very little traffic noise.

"It is such an ugly structure and it is difficult to identify what it actually is," he said. "Some people unfamiliar to the area even confuse it with the roof of a football stadium."

In a report to councillors which recommends granting the retrospective application, head of planning Alan Henderson said the canopy had "no adverse impact" on the bridge and "limited impact on residential amenity".

A spokesman for FETA said: "The fact that a building is in view of your property is not a valid objection to a planning application. Suggestions of tearing the toll plaza down are completely unfounded."

The new booths are designed to protect attendants from fumes and road-rage drivers.

Councillors will rule on the application, which has been backed by Historic Scotland, on Wednesday.