ForthRight Alliance

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday 28th February 2006

PARLIAMENTARY PETITION CALLS FOR HALT TO FORTH BRIDGE PLANS

Groups opposed to plans for a Second Forth Road Bridge today (Tuesday 28th February) lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament urging the Scottish Executive to have all the facts at its disposal before committing spending towards the construction of a Second Forth Road Bridge.

The petition comes from a coalition of 20 of Scotland's leading environmental, heritage, student and sustainable transport groups. The groups have become increasingly concerned that the Executive is being bounced into a position to back an additional bridge when there is no evidence that all the options to maintain and preserve the existing bridge have been fully explored.

Chairman of the ForthRight Alliance, Bill Cantley, said:

"It is our belief that all options to maintain and preserve the existing bridge must be fully explored before a further new bridge is actively pursued. Scottish Ministers should have all the facts at its disposal before taking a stance on the possibility of an additional bridge. Failing to do so would be both environmentally irresponsible and fiscally imprudent."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] The petition reads:

"Forth Road Bridge petition
"A petition by the ForthRight Alliance calling upon the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to desist from spending taxpayers' money on preparing for the construction of a Second Forth Road Bridge before having at its disposal all the facts regarding the condition of the existing Forth Road Bridge; on the grounds that any such expenditure would both environmentally irresponsible and fiscally imprudent."[2] Campaign groups who successfully fought a second Forth road bridge proposal ten years ago reformed in 2005 to fight plans for a new crossing.

ForthRight Alliance members currently include:

RSPB Scotland, WWF Scotland, TRANSform Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Friends of the Earth Edinburgh, Friends of the Earth Fife, The Cockburn Association (The Edinburgh Civic Trust), The National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Civic Trust, People and Planet, Railfuture Scotland, SPOKES Lothian Cycle Campaign, Capital Rail Action Group, Scottish Wildlife Trust, Edinburgh and Lothians Greenbelt Network, Living Streets Scotland, Scottish Association for Public Transport, SERA Scotland.

Full list: http://www.forthrightalliance.org/members.html

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