Falling debris from Forth Bridge ‘could have killed somebody’

Villagers’ concerns over work on structure backed by councillor

FALLING debris from the Forth Bridge “could have killed somebody” in North Queensferry.

Villagers have raised concerns over the £7.5m refurbishment project on the Forth Bridge, and have been backed by councillors and the community council.

Councillor David Barratt, whose ward includes North Queensferry, told the Press: “It’s only been through luck that an item hasn’t struck an individual or done more serious damage to vehicles, it could have killed somebody and for Network Rail and Balfour Beatty to not take it seriously is quite alarming.

Scaffolding pins and metal bolts have reportedly fallen into the gardens of residents and they fear that their concerns are going unheard.

“They’re continuing to get items dropped from the bridge into people’s gardens or onto the road and pavement below,” he said.

“They’re continuing to get other items blown from the bridge, there’s a dust or a grit that they use for blasting the paint off the bridge when they’re cleaning up rust and bolts and so there’s been grit that has been blown from the works onto and across people’s cars, windows and roofs.”

The Press reported residents’ fears back in February 2021 and they say there has been little change since then. The work includes blasting off the iconic red paint on the bridge to allow for inspections and repairs to the structure before it is repainted. It started in December 2020 and is expected to take four years.

Cllr Barratt continued: “It’s been a long-running issue. For a while, it looked like it had been somewhat resolved. Anabelle Ewing had stepped in and formed these weekly meetings between the community council and Balfour Beatty and that looked like it was improving the situation, local residents had a better working relationship with the Balfour Beatty staff.

“A lot of the staff have since left, there is new staff on site and that relationship appears to have broken down a bit.”

Residents are unhappy with the responses they are receiving. He said: “When the concerns are put to Network Rail and Balfour Beatty, they quite often get a response back that doesn’t reflect reality from the perspective of the residents.

“For example, they will be told that there was an accidental release of this grit that amounted to, and they’ll give a volume as a small cupful, but it turns out that a resident has swept it off of their car and it fills a tupperware box. It’s not credible that there hasn’t been a greater release.

“Network Rail’s responses just haven’t been credible or reflective of what the community is experiencing and they’re concerned that if they aren’t being taken seriously then the issues will continue.”

Now, residents are calling for better communication and for the issues they are highlighting to be addressed and resolved.

Ian Mitchell, chair of North Queensferry Community Council, said: “There are a number of residents who have concerns regarding the damage to their property arising from the works on the bridge. Network Rail has promised to attend to these matters but some residents are dissatisfied with those promises and raised the matter at the last community council.

“The community council have decided to put extra pressure on. I understand that Gordon Brown has indeed written a letter to the chairman of Network Rail so we are waiting to hear. In the meantime, the weekly meetings with the team continues and certainly things are happening with that but perhaps not as quickly as the residents would like.”

In response, a Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are working closely with North Queensferry Community Council to address the residents’ concerns and have held meetings with them this week.

“We are undertaking an investigation to establish if the dirt and dust is coming from the bridge and to identify options to manage the issue if it is from the railway. We remain committed to keeping the community informed during this process.”