By Aileen Robertson

NORTH QUEENSFERRY residents are remaining open minded about whether the new Forth crossing should be a bridge or a tunnel, according to the community council.

However the local heritage group has said it is fully supportive of Forth Tunnel Action Group’s campaign for a tunnel west of Rosyth.

Members of both the community council and North Queensferry Heritage Trust are expected to attend a meeting at Deep Sea World on Tuesday of next week, when ForthTAG leader John Carson will put forward his case for a tunnel.

Mr Carson previously told The Courier that he expected the majority of North Queensferry residents to back his campaign.

But community council chairman Peter Dean said local people were reluctant to jump to any conclusions.

“I would not like to say that North Queensferry residents favour a tunnel,” he said.

“I would say we have an open mind about whether there should be a bridge or a tunnel. We have arranged this meeting to get more information.

“We’re highly dependent on a crossing. Obviously we regret the fact that the bridge has a limited life and we would like to see it toll free.”

Speaking personally as a local resident, Mr Dean said he had fears about the consequences of delaying any decision about a new crossing.

Bridgemaster Alastair Andrew has warned that the current Forth Road Bridge may have to close to heavy lorries in 2013 and shut altogether in 2019 because of corrosion in the main cables.

Mr Dean said, “I am of the opinion that there has been a dangerous delay in making the decision that we’re going to need a crossing and there has also been a dangerous delay in deciding what type of crossing should be built.

“The engineers of the bridge have warned us the bridge has a limited life span and have identified the years in which it will be partially closed and fully closed to all traffic.

“A major bridge project would take 10 years to go through the various processes, in particular the planning stage because of conflict with environmental groups I’m sure.

“The danger is there will be a period of time when the present bridge is closed to heavy goods traffic or completely closed and there is no alternative crossing.

“In that case there would be terrible pile-ups in west Fife as people tried to get to the Kincardine Bridge.

“There would be terrible traffic in the west Fife villages along the main road to Kincardine and I would imagine it would be unpleasant for people living on the main road on the south side of the river as well.

“The fact is the decision making process has not been in gear because of the election.”

James Lawson, chairman of North Queensferry Heritage Trust, said the group felt that a tunnel would be best because it would last longer and have less environmental impact.

He said, “Those who are interested in heritage matters are concerned about the ecology of the environment, and North Queensferry has a population of migrating birds.”