MSPs blind to climate impact of additional bridge
Commenting on The Scottish Parliament Committee considering the Forth Crossing Bill, Juliet Swann, Head of Projects and Campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said:
“At a time when we are expecting huge cuts from the new UK Government, it makes no sense to propose spending millions of pounds on this unnecessary development. As well as facing up to the fiscal crisis and the necessary cuts, we must face up to the climate crisis and cut projects like the Forth Crossing.”
ENDS
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Per Fischer, Press Office, Friends of the Earth Scotland t: 0131 243 2719
Notes to editors
1. Parliamentary analysis of the the cost requirements for the second Forth Crossing, set against the £30 million budgeted this year, suggests we’ll have to pay out £583 million in the next two Scottish budgets (2011/12 and 2012/13):
2007/08 and 2009/10 – 56m2010/11, 2011/122012/13 – £613m2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 – £1,179m Post 2016 – £196m
www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-10/SB10-05.pdf
This suggests that given the Bridge requires a total of £613m between 2010-2013 and yet only £30m was budgeted towards the Bridge this year (www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/284860/0086518.pdf), we need to pay £583m in the next two budgets.
2. Friends of the Earth Scotland supports the maintenance of a road bridge across the Forth. A study undertaken by W A Fairhurst and Partners found that replacement of the main cables is technically possible at a cost of £122 million.
Friends of the Earth Scotland is the country’s leading independent environmental campaigning organisation, and is the only organisation in Scotland that is working for environmental justice, campaigning for the planet and its people.