War Memorial Update

Lyndsy Adam, who chairs the Floral Display group, volunteered to coordinate the negotiations with Fife council and other organisations to get our War Memorial restored. She tells us:

"The War Memorials Trust and others have been very helpful and encouraging with advice about funding. Fife Council have a plan to reinforce and re-erect the war memorial. They have promised to undertake to protect the top decorative piece in the meantime. Once the War Memorial has been re-erected, the Floral Display Group hopes to lead a community effort to enhance the area around it. Look out for more information on this in the coming weeks."

Beach Clean finished

Due to the huge efforts yesterday, today's beach clean has finished early.
Thanks to all the folks who helped. We'll be posting a full update soon.
Thanks again.

Sunday efforts from Ballast Bank to Limekilns

Another good turn out today.
Yesterday's efforts were boosted by a team from Community Service and the areas to the east of Limekilns Pier were completed.
So today, we're working on the areas between Ballast Bank and Limekilns Pier.
We're getting lots of encouragement from the dog walkers!
There's still lots to pick up if you want to join us. :)

Beach Clean off to a great start

60 volunteers are working their way east from Limekilns Beach. Limekilns Beach has been cleared, and the efforts are currently focussed near Red Row.
Kingdom FM interview was recorded this morning, and the Dunfermline Press are here taking photographs.
There still time to join in today!

Beach Clean - message from Kat

"I have a car full of litter pickers, plastic bags, tabards, gloves etc and - yes wait for it ....... treats from Greggs!!! All waiting to be distributed to all you keen and willing volunteers!
So see you all on the beach this weekend!
Thanks for your support.

Katrina Tebbutt"

Are you ready to join in the Beach Clean?

Come along and join the team of volunteers at this weekend's Beach Clean.

We are meeting on Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd April at 10.00am at Limekilns Pier car park. We'll be working in beaches from Charlestown to Limekilns. Gloves, litter pickers and bags will all be provided.

So come along and join in the fun and help Keep Scotland Beautiful!


PS   Bring a fork if you can (a gardening fork of course!!!)


Contact Katrina Tebbutt on 07876592470 or email katrinascorbett@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

This community website blog will bring you the very latest news throughout the weekend.

Week 7, Day 4 - the details of the last day of evidence

This was the final day of the formal part of the Inquiry. You might have imagined it would wind gently down to its conclusion. However ...

The focus today was the evidence of Professor Des Thompson, Principal Adviser on Biodiversity for Scottish Natural Heritage. He was led in evidence by Miss Cockburn. There then followed some six hours of cross-examination by Ms Wilson. When she said, at one stage, she just needed another hour, she took another two hours. Later, when she said she
needed another fifteen minutes she took another hour. By the time it was the turn of the Reporters to ask questions, it was 7pm. When they had finished, Ms Cockburn then carried out a lengthy re-examination to revisit some of the assertions and suggestions that Ms Wilson had made during the cross-examination, finishing at 8.30pm. Then there was a final session in
which all parties could raise any matters before the Inquiry ended.

There was a bit of discussion about the Hearing to be held on 3rd and 4th April, and about the publication of the final revision of the Environmental Statement, following the correction of the figures. Then, in true Babcock fashion, Ms Wilson presented another document with a request that it be lodged - at 9.45pm on the very last day of a seven week Inquiry! This document was a response by Babcock to a Forth Ports document produced at the end of part one of the Inquiry. It showed Babcock's very different view as to what should constitute the boundary of the HRO area!

Then, those who had stuck it to the very end were allowed to go home.

Week 7, Day 4 - last day

Just a short blog for now; the last day of evidence is still in session and it's nearly 9pm. We'll post an update tomorrow.

Week 7, Day 3.

Another change of scene. Today, the scene shifted to the Keavil House Hotel.

Dr Gilchrist, Babcock's witness for ecology and designated sites, was in the hot seat all day. (His reappearance followed the cessation of his cross-examination last week in order for discrepancies in the bird survey figures to be resolved.) He was led in evidence to explain why the figures had gone awry, and then cross-examined at length by SNH. Beryl then did a brief but well-targeted cross examination on behalf of JAG. The Reporters followed with their own questions, and the Babcock QC finished off the day with 're-examination'.

Tomorrow will see the appearance of the final witness of the Inquiry. This is the ecology witness for SNH.

Week 7, Day 2.

Today, Forth Ports hosted an excellent site visit to the container terminal at Grangemouth. Four members of JAG, three Reporters, and three from Babcock were given a very informative tour of the facility.

There were two ships at the quayside, and dozens of lorries marshalled waiting to take on or off-load containers. It was explained that there are several daily peaks in HGV activity, because most hauliers like to fit in two round trips to the Glasgow area each day.

We were shown all that goes on in the TayForth Navigation Service building, in terms of monitoring shipping movements, managing pilots and tugs, and always being highly prepared for an emergency. One room in the building is kept empty and ready for all the parties that would need to be involved in the event of an emergency - such as a collision or a pollution incident.

We were then kitted out in hard hats and high viz jackets so that we could examine entrance lock and hear about the regular dredging that is required, as well as being told about the maintenance of channel markers and buoys.

Week 7, Day 1

Today was something completely different from the routine of the past six weeks.

At 10am, there was a site visit to the beach at Brucehaven by six joint action group members, three reporters, three representatives from Babcock, two from SNH, one from Forth Ports, one local councillor and one dog. The intertidal shore was examined in intimate detail to determine the extent of Zostera beds, the numbers of 'loafing' birds, the extent to which bands of rock might hold back sediment, and how far you could walk down the beach before getting stuck in the mud. On the way back, close attention was given to the integrity of the sea wall and the gabions.

The afternoon saw the marine site visit organised by Forth Ports. This was to visit the point in the middle of the Forth, to which Babcock hope to extend their jurisdiction through the Harbour Revision Order. Ten intrepid souls from the various categories mentioned above had a short, but very choppy boat ride out into the river.

Tomorrow there will be a site visit to Grangemouth so that the reporters can see the working container terminal there. On Wednesday morning the Inquiry reconvenes, this time at the Keavil House Hotel in Crossford.

Week 6, Day 4

Great turn-out of support today for Joint Action Group day of evidence. (Just happened that it was a day when half the public gallery chairs had disappeared!)

SNH were absent because it was the only day when they could arrange a high level meeting with various bosses to discuss their strategy for the remainder of the Inquiry.

Jim Simpson was first to give evidence. In this part of the Inquiry his evidence concerned dredging and issues concerning how dredged material would be disposed of.

Tom Leatherland was next. His evidence was to do with movements of sediments under the influence of wind and tide and the likelihood of the proposed new dredged channel leading to lowering of the beach at Brucehaven.

There was still time before lunch, so Beryl Leatherland read out her summary precognition before the break. This meant that Beryl was led in evidence and was cross examined for the remainder of the afternoon. She gave a great deal of evidence concerning the European Habitats directive and shared her knowledge of the need for ecological integrity of habitats.
Next week will be rather different. On Monday there will be a visit to the beach at Brucehaven, so that the Reporters can see for themselves all the features that have been discussed during the Inquiry. In the afternoon, there will be a 'marine' site visit. This will involve a boat trip organised by Forth Ports, so that the reporters can understand the location of the proposed new channel, and the possible wind and waves that might be encountered.

On Tuesday, there will be a visit to Grangemouth Container Terminal so that the Reporters can understand what goes on there.

On Wednesday, the Inquiry will resume for one or two more days. This is for he SNH to give evidence following the situation last week when a lot of the numbers recording the distribution of birds were found to be inaccurate. The errors have now been sorted.

Please note that the venue will change. It will be at Keavil House Hotel in Crossford.

Week 6, Day 3

Today the witness for Forth Ports was Dr Jim Hansom from Glasgow University who knows a lot about coastal geomorphology - the effects of waves wind and tides in shaping the coastline. He was led in evidence up to coffee time, and then cross-examined by the QC for Babcock. Unlike on previous occasions, she seemed to run out of steam and stop after only about an hour of cross-examination.

There then followed quite a bit of housekeeping to make arrangements for next week's site visits and the day of evidence which will hear from Peter Gilchrist for Babcock and Des Thompson for SNH, who will each provide evidence from their organisation's perspective on the likely impact on the Special Protection Area which is adjacent to the site of the proposal.

We were allowed home at 1.30pm. Quite a change from yesterday when it had been 6.45pm!

Week 6, Day 2

Another marathon day!
The main witness today was Alan Barr for Forth Ports.  He was in an unusual position of, for the first time, appearing at a Public Inquiry on behalf of an objector, rather than an Applicant, whose case he would normally be advocating.  He did seem to know what he was talking about.  He was led in evidence by Heriot Currie until a late coffee break.  He was then cross-examined at length by QC for Babcock. He had hoped to leave at 4pm to catch a flight back to Belfast, but that didn't happen.  He was finished with at about 5.30pm.

Then it was decided to slot in Dr Riddell to rebut Dr Rennie's 'new' evidence from yesterday.  Various large diagrams were handed out as well as a brand new document referring to an outfall from the contractor's Jetty.  After Dr Riddell had given his evidence, Ms Cockburn for SNH asked for a 15 minute recess to discuss it with Dr Rennie before she cross examined Dr Riddell.  This she then did, and was followed by Tom Leatherland, posing some questions on behalf of the Joint Action Group.  The Reporters helpfully had no questions, and the session eventually ended at 6.45pm!

Week 6, Day 1

Day 18 of the Inquiry.

The SNH witness for Coastal Morphology (basically the effects of dredging) took the stand today. The Babcock QC questioning his evidence and cross examination took all day.

There was a minor interruption to proceedings when the SNH witness was said to have produced a new document with new evidence.  This resulted in the assertion that the Babcock witness should be recalled to respond to this.

Thus the dredging evidence will be prolonged into tomorrow.

End of Week 5

It's been another busy week at the Public Local Inquiry.

Again, there has been great support from residents, and as throughout the Inquiry, we are extremely grateful.

The Reporters have just release the proposed timetable for the remainder of the Inquiry. The plans for next week have all changed. The Inquiry will sit from Monday to Thursday. In additions dates have been set for various site visits the following week.  The Inquiry evidence now extends into March, and dates have been set for the hearing in April.

The daily updates are available on the community website's What's On? calendar.

Week 5, Day 4

At last, something to blog about!

This was to be the day for the final witness for Babcock to give his evidence and be cross-examined. This witness was Dr Gilchrist, whose area of expertise was deemed to be birds and all the stuff to do with the Habitats Directive.

Some time was spent trying to deal with buzzing loud speakers, without much success. A solution was eventually achieved when Malcolm arrived in the afternoon, and advised that they try switching the system off and switch it back on again!

All started off as normal, with the QC for Babcock leading the witness's evidence. However, this quickly developed into another vehicle to attack SNH for changing their mind and becoming an objector (an event which had happened in early November). After about an hour and a half, everyone decided that there was an awful smell of paraffin in the room, so the hall was evacuated and a coffee break taken. It was discovered that there were men working on the roof, using some paraffin-based bitumen near one of the air intakes! This was sorted fairly quickly and the interlude barely interrupted the flow of Babcock's QC who continued with leading evidence until quarter past twelve!

At last , it was time for cross-examination. SNH began the process. There were various questions about the witness's understanding of the legal issues around the Habitats Directive, and then about the quality assurance procedures that were in place to ensure data provided was accurate. There then followed a detailed analysis of the arithmetical derivation of various numbers in the tables recording bird distribution. Error after error was exposed. Babcock's QC intervened and said this should have been sorted out sooner. SNH pointed out that they had asked for the raw data, so that they could understand where the errors had arisen. Babcock had not let them have it because it might be commercially sensitive!

It was decided that SNH's cross-examination should stop, and the Reporters would discuss the situation over lunch. After lunch, it was decided that the SNH cross examination should cease until the issue of the figures was sorted. There would be a meeting on Monday to sort this out, and the whole business of this cross-examination would be held over until March 1st! So, all of a sudden, it was JAG's turn to cross examine the Babcock witness. Beryl approached the task with enthusiasm and did a brilliant job. We are all very proud of her.

On Monday, it will be the turn of Forth Ports witnesses to take the stand.

Week 5, Day 3

Mike Shiel, one of the Reporters, opened proceedings by saying “I think this is Day 16.  Not that I'm scratching off the days on my cell wall or anything!”

Then began the cross examination of Dr Riddell, the Babcock witness for dredging.  By the time his re-examination by Babcock's QC was over at 5pm, he had been in the hot seat all day. SNH cross examined for most of the morning, Forth Ports followed and Tom Leatherland slotted in for JAG at the end.  It was hard going because Dr Riddell has very fixed views about how and why things happen.

Tomorrow, it will be Babcock's witness Dr Gilchrist.  He is the only witness for Babcock who is allowed to be asked questions relating to the designated sites.

Week five, day 2

Because Dr Riddell, whose dredging evidence was led yesterday, was not able to be here for the whole day today, he will return for his cross-examination tomorrow.

The new programme, which was only fixed at 6pm last night, started with Ted Keegan. This was a rather unusual session as Mr Keegan had not written a precognition, and consisted of his giving an account of correspondence between him and SNH in the years leading up to the Inquiry.

After coffee, it was the turn of Mr Bromley, the Babcock witness for Marine Ecology. He was subject to cross-examination by SNH, Forth Ports and JAG. This lasted most of the afternoon before some 'housekeeping' arrangements were made, before Lyndsey Nicholl the chief Reporter suggested we would all be heading off for our Valentine's Day dates!

Week five of the Public Local Inquiry

Week Five begins.

No late start today. Things kicked off at 9.30 instead of the usual 10am for a Monday. This was in order for the second Babcock witness, Dr Riddell, to be finished by 11am on Tuesday.

There followed one and a half hours of 'discussion' about the validity of a batch of late documents that Babcock wanted to submit and some additional material from SNH.

At 11am Babcock's first witness took the stand. He was Dr Brampton of HR Wallingford, who was Babcock's last minute witness on wave modelling. The Inquiry broke for lunch when Dr Brampton was half way through his evidence. (This meant he had to be in 'purdah' - not talking to anyone - until the Inquiry reconvened after lunch). After the afternoon break it was the turn of Dr Riddell. He is the Babcock witness on sediments and dredging. The QC for Babcock embarked on leading his evidence - a procedure that normally lasts around twenty minutes. On this occasion she took two hours. By the time it was finished it was 5.30pm and clearly cross-examination of Dr Riddell couldn't be done today. As he is not available tomorrow, his cross-examination will be continued on Wednesday.

On Tuesday the first witness will be Ted Keegan, who, we believe, will talk about the Environmental Impact Assessment. He will be followed by Robert Bromley who is the Babcock witness for marine ecology.

Week four - just one day

The Inquiry has only been in session for one day this week.  This was on Monday 6th February.

The first witness of the day was Joe Bebbington who is the Joint Action Group witness for Noise.  The case was argued in a lot of detail - much of it hinging on the matter of how the 'noise' of the dawn chorus should be treated.

Charlie Stoddart then gave the Inquiry the benefit of his experience over 30 years of working in the logistics industry in Scotland.  He argues that Scotland does not have a big enough population to require any more container terminal capacity.

After lunch Malcolm Hamilton took the stand as the JAG witness for Carbon Assessment, and then Tom Leatherland gave evidence on contaminated land.

The excellent turnout of residents was much appreciated.

The second stage of the Inquiry begins on Monday 13th, (from 9.30am).  This part of the Inquiry will consider the impact of the proposed dredging on beach sediments and on the integrity of the wildlife SPA sites that have European designation.

End of week 3

Apologies for the gap in the blog; we've been busy preparing for our own witness sessions which began yesterday.

On Tuesday the evidence on contaminated land from Babcock's witness was completed, and then their Planning witness took up most of the afternoon.

On Wednesday, the first two witnesses for Forth Ports gave evidence - on shipping movements and on Planning. That left their 'Socio-Economic' (jobs) witness to appear this morning.

Then it was the turn of Joint Action Group witnesses. Jim Simpson went first with his evidence on Shipping Movements. Suze Anderson gave her evidence on Traffic and Transport after lunch. At the end of the afternoon, Sue Hamilton gave her evidence on the consultation process and on Visual Impact. All three were deemed to have stood up well to cross-examination by Babcock's QC.

There was a great turnout from the villages, particularly when we gave our evidence on Thursday. As throughout the first three weeks, this was greatly appreciated.

In recent days the timetable of next week has changed. The Inquiry will sit for just one day next week, on Monday 06 February. It will then break for the rest of the week. This break is to allow time to review and respond to material from a new witness. On Monday 13 February, the Inquiry will resume to start the second half which will concentrate on dredging and ecological issues. This is expected to last at least two weeks. We’ll let you know more when the details are available.

Week 3, Day 1

Week 3 started with each opposing party reading their statements concerning the proposed wave modelling. The Reporters have yet to rule on whether this work will go ahead, but the parties are each submitting their opinions on the scope of such work.

We then heard the noise evidence. The Joint Action Group was the only party cross-examining this witness. This took much of the day, and left only about an hour for the next witness who was Babcock’s witness on Land Contamination.

Land Contamination evidence and cross-examination will now run on into Tuesday. Planning and Policies evidence will follow.

It’s a busy week this week, that will see Babcock complete its evidence for phase 1, and other parties will also give theirs.

Again, there was a good turnout from the villages. This was particularly welcomed since we were the only party cross-examining the noise witness today. Thank you all, once again.

The end of week 2

That's the end of our second week at the Inquiry. There have been many changes to the order for next week, so please check the What's On calendar on the website (www.clpc.org.uk, if you are accessing this via Twitter) before you come along.

We'd also like to thank our friends at Planning Democracy for their support this week. They do valuable work and it's great to know they support our case.

Once again, we need to thank all our supporters particulary those who have been at the Inquiry this week.

We'll keep you up to date, and tweak the calendar each night over the next few weeks.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Week 2, Day 8

This morning, the Reporters gave their ruling as to whether the Applicant should be allowed to call a new witness. Their decision was that they should, despite strong objections having been raised by Forth Ports and SNH.

There was then a long discussion about the availability of all parties if the Inquiry needed to be adjourned while a modelling exercise was carried out.
The first Babcock witness today was on Carbon Balance Assessment. This had been sprung upon us late yesterday by the change in the programme. We didn't have our Advocate present, but he suggested that we could follow on from the cross-examination that would, no doubt be done by Forth Ports, and ask any questions that we thought might have been missed.  It was a bit of a surprise when Forth Ports had no questions to ask. It therefore fell to
Malcolm Hamilton from the JAG to cross examine the witness. 

In the afternoon, the Babcock witness for Socio-Economic matters took the stand. She was cross-examined by Forth Ports and then the day came to an early conclusion, and we cleared the room for the weekend.

Week 2, Day 7

Today started with responses from other parties to Babcock’s proposal of yesterday to introduce an additional witness, along with a precognition and additional documents relating to further investigative work on the likely impact of dredging on the foreshore and the designated site. Forth Ports, SNH and JAG each made statements setting out their view on the proposal.

Babcock representatives then distributed a number of newspaper cuttings that they wished to be lodged as documents for the Inquiry.

We then heard the witness for Forth Ports who was giving evidence relating to Carbon Balance. There followed relentless cross-examination of this witness by Babcock.

When the session finally ended at around 5pm, the Reporters sought to confirm the arrangements for the next day. At this point, the representative for Babcock asked that there be a fundamental change to the order of witnesses, bringing in their witness for Carbon Balance in the morning, followed by the witness for their socio-economic (jobs) case in the afternoon. This means that the noise witness will not be called until Monday.

Week 2, Day 6

Day 2, and the decision was made by the Reporters following yesterday's difference of opinion. This resulted in Scottish Natural Heritage being restricted to only asking questions which they had covered in their precognition. This caused the representatives of SNH to question whether their continued attendance at the Inquiry would be of much value.

It was then time for Babcock’s witness on road traffic issues to be called to give evidence. However, the lawyer for Babcock intervened to say that, in Environmental Statement (published in January 2011), there were a number of errors in the text and tables relating to traffic flow at junctions, with some of the junctions being misnamed.

Fortunately, after quickly checking the general scope of the corrections we were able to cross examine Babcock’s witness as scheduled. After lunch, Babcock’s QC made a lengthy (85 minute) submission on why they were asking to call another witness to deal with a minor matter that had been raised by objectors in relation to wave action and its effect on the foreshore. Parties will respond in the morning. After this discussion was over, the Babcock witness for landscape and visual effects gave his evidence and was cross-examined by us.

Tomorrow we'll hear a Forth Ports witness give evidence and be subject to cross examination by Babcock in relation to the container market. (This has been rescheduled to suit witness availability).

Week 2, Day 5

The day started at 10am to allow time for all the boxes of documents to be reinstated to their places in the room.

There was then an administrative interlude when the Reporters asked the Applicant about three documents they had suggested they would have available for today. For various reasons, none of them were available this morning.

The first witness of the day was Captain Keenor for the Applicant. He gave his opinion about how shipping could be managed on the Forth. (It emerged later that he and Jim Simpson had sailed with the same shipping line in their seafaring days!)

After lunch, Gary Graves, the manager or commercial port operations took the stand. The cross questioning was proceeding smoothly when the lawyer for SNH asked a question about the control of oil pollution to which the lawyer of Babcock objected. We then sat and listened for almost an hour while their differences were thrashed out. The situation had still not been resolved by the end of the day, so cross-examination of Gary Graves will continue tomorrow.

The end of the first week!

That’s the end of the first week. The Inquiry isn’t sitting on Fridays.

Today we heard from Mr Joe Bugeja whose company has been selected as preferred operator of the proposed container terminal.  He operates container terminals in Riga (in Latvia) and in Venice. He told us about all the things that are needed for a container terminal to run efficiently.

In the afternoon, we heard about Rail Access from Graham MacDonald. He told the Inquiry about the state of the existing railway line into the Dockyard, and how much work would need to be done to bring it back into use.

There ensued considerable discussion about availability of witnesses during the next two weeks, and how the programme might be ordered. The Reporters will put out a revised programme for next week by the end of tomorrow. Several people have been asking about the timetable for next week, so we’ll update the What’s On page on this website as soon as we know the details. As with this week, we’ll update the calendar with any changes from day to day.

Proceedings today were finished in good time, so we were allowed home a bit early today. However, part of being allowed home for the weekend was the business of clearing the room of all our stuff.  Those of you who have attended this week will have seen the volume of documents. All of these have to be removed each weekend and set up again on the Monday. We had to load all our boxes documents into our cars before we left.

We start back at 10 am on Monday. Well, probably a good bit earlier as we’ll be setting up the files again. We'll keep you up to date next week!

Day 3 - evidence, visit and donations

It was another interesting day today. The evidence from Andrew Penfold on the container terminal market occupied us until after 1pm. The normal programme of witnesses was suspended in the afternoon, because Counsel for Babcock was unavailable. However, after lunch, Mike Shirkie from Rosyth Community Council spoke in favour of the proposed container terminal. This was followed up with a site-visit by the Reporters and representatives of the various parties, in the daylight to see the proximity of the site from one of the Limekilns houses that will be most affected.

We didn’t start the precognition about the Rail Freight Spur at Port Babcock Rosyth, so we’ll be starting with that tomorrow. The other sessions to be covered are Operations and Vessel Movements.

That will see the end of the first week; just five more to go! We’ve learned a lot over the last three days and have figured out ways to make things a bit easier. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be an easier way to take the notes. L

Again, there was a great turnout from the residents of the village. Almost every time the door opened, someone from our villages came in. I’m glad so many are finding it interesting; both in terms of content and process.

This evening I’ve been catching up with the donations that have been made in the last week. Several were accompanied by letters and cards of support. We’re grateful for all the support. We still need to raise more funds; details on the SOS Limekilns page on this website.

Day 2 and a motivational tune

It's been a busy today. It’s been great to have residents coming and going throughout the day; some have even attended both days! We are really grateful for their support and encouragement.

Today we saw the completion of Mike Murray's cross-examination. Before lunch there was another dose of procedural questions raised by Babcock around the late submission (again) of rebuttal precognitions and documents. After lunch we heard from Mr Chris Patterson about the Design and Construction of the terminal, and listened while he was cross-examined. Then, just before the end of the day, we heard Mr Andrew Penfold's precognition on the market and need for the container terminal. No doubt, when Forth Ports cross-examine him tomorrow morning they will have some searching questions about container traffic to and from the Forth.

At around lunch time tomorrow, Mike Shirkie from Rosyth Community Council will speak in support of the proposal. This is a departure from the traditional witnesses at a Public Local Inquiry, where it's usually just the applicant and objectors who give evidence. After this there's expected to be a very short site visit to Limekilns.

It's clear this is going to be a tough six weeks for the team. It's funny though, how a tune can offer some unexpected motivation. I just pulled out of the Pitbauchlie car park when this started playing on the radio - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS-zK1S5Dws. Priceless!

Day 1 of the Public Local Inquiry - and a power cut!

Came home from the Inquiry to a power cut. Thankfully this one only lasted an hour and not 23 hours like last time. It was an appropriate end to an eventful day.

The Inquiry started today and 8 members of the Joint Action Group were there. The whole of the morning was taken up by introductory matters and a few discussions regarding various procedural issues that have arisen during the last three months. The first Inquiry witness Mike Murray, Babcock's Site Development Manager, took his place. read his summary precognition and was then cross-examined by the Forth Ports Advocate and Maurice O'Carroll, the Joint Action Group Advocate. The planned programme had shown Mr Murray’s stint would be completed today. However, by 4.30pm, we (the Joint Action Group) were still only part of the way through our cross examination of him. Tomorrow we finish our questions, and then Scottish Natural Heritage will ask theirs, followed by the Reporters.

Next Babcock are to answer a few outstanding questions from this morning and, hopefully by lunchtime, we'll be start the order of Day 2.

There was a great turnout from residents. We didn't know who would be there, and it was a great lift when so many residents came through the door.

Tomorrow we are to hear the evidence from Babcock in relation to Design and Construction of the terminal and then the issue of the market that exists for more Container Terminal capacity on the Forth.

Inquiry starts tomorrow

Just about to head off to the last meeting before the Public Local Inquiry starts tomorrow.

Tomorrow we’ll be starting with the Introductions and Preliminary Matters, followed by Babcock’s Site Development Manager, Mike Murray taking the stand to cover the Site Development evidence.

The timetable, is as it stands, shows Babcock’s evidence over the first two weeks, with Fort Ports and the Joint Action Group on the third week. Weeks four to six will cover dredging and ecological issues. We’ll cover that timeline in greater detail later.

Hoping the meeting tonight will be short; we’ve all got to get a good night’s sleep tonight!

Welcome to the Community Blog

A new year and a new page on the community website!

There's such a lot going on in our villages I thought we'd lauch a community blog. We'll start to update the blog regulary. The Public Local Inquiry into the proposed container terminal will probably fill the early posts, but we hope to bring a variety of posts about all manner of things.

For now though, I'm just glad it seems to be working!