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.