Background
Burntisland is a small town on the north side of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Directly across the water lies the city of Edinburgh.
Burntisland Harbour has seen many changes over the years, but one thing that remained constant was the freedom for generations of townspeople to wander around it. In all that time there was not a single accident reported by a member of the public, even during the days when it was very considerably busier than it is now!
Hundreds of locals regularly visited the harbour, which is a designated Listed Building, to walk the dockside, the derelict land or the breakwater, maybe with the dog, watch birds and even whales, go fishing, feed Sammy the tame seal, take photographs, or just enjoy the views and the spectacular sunsets. The ability to walk around their harbour was of great benefit to the community’s mental and physical health, even more so during the pandemic.
The fence
In 2020 the harbour’s owner, Forth Ports (FP) met with Burntisland Community Council to inform them that they intended to install high-security fencing around the harbour, thus rendering it completely out of bounds to the public. Their stated reason was for health and safety.
There are plenty of examples of harbours and ports around the country where access is permitted. Sensible and proportionate measures such as warning notices and post and rail fences to prevent falls off the side are deemed sufficient to discharge the owners’ health and safety liability.
Why could Forth Ports not take this more enlightened, common sense approach? Only the northern side of our dock is in commercial use, and that sparingly. The rest of the site was abandoned long ago and was now used only for leisure, so there was absolutely no logic in their decision to exclude the public from the whole area.
The “justification”
FP’s main justification for their proposal is health and safety. They bizarrely claim that the fences they describe are the “minimum intervention” required to address the risks they identify. It is clear that every one of these “risks” either (a) doesn’t exist, or (b) could be nullified by simple control measures which don’t necessitate the public being deprived of access by structures which wouldn’t look out of place around a maximum security prison and which are totally inappropriate for an historic and culturally important site.
The campaign
In Feb 2021 an online petition was launched, attracting 1,175 signatures in the first 24 hours. It eventually reached a staggering total of 3,047.
Along with a representative from the Community Council we met with FP’s Senior Port Officer and his deputy. But despite us making a very strong case against the proposal and demonstrating the strength of public opposition, they wouldn’t budge.
In March 2021 we created the #SaveBurntislandHarbour Facebook group (now 1100+ members), and an Instagram account too, where people could post photos and artworks to visually celebrate the harbour and discuss the unfolding events.
On 1st May 2021 BHAT was formed. Over the new few months the team subsequently spent very many hours researching the history of the harbour, the legal and planning complexities and land designations. We attempted to obtain the H&S report which apparently led to FP’s decision. The Health & Safety Executive refused to grant access to it, although they advise us that a fence is not one of their requirements.
Listed Building Consent
13th May 2021
The harbour is classified as a B-listed structure so FP required formal consent to erect the fence. Despite 253 objections and an independent expert’s report concluding that consent should be refused, it was duly granted.
March and Rally
27th Nov 2021 On a beautifully crisp, cold day sandwiched between storm Arwen and a fall of snow, around 500 people, led by pipers from the Burntisland & District Pipe Band, marched from the Beacon to the harbour to demonstrate their support for the campaign. They rallied in front of the old railway station to hear stirring speeches from Sandra Maguire, George Fisher, Andy Wight-Boycott and Alan Hobbett before singing and dancing along to Don’t Fence Me Out and Who’ll Feed Sammy by the Burntisland Hat Band.
The event marked the transition from fighting the erection of the fence to registering a community right to buy the harbour and other land in the immediate area under the provisions of the Land Reform Act. It was an extremely successful, and quite emotional, day. You can watch the edited footage on YouTube
Community Right to Buy
Our application was submitted on 8th Feb 2022.
BHAT Application for Registration of Community
Interest in Burntisland Harbour
Most of the land around the harbour is owned by Forth Ports. In addition, Network Rail own a long strip between the railway and the East Dock, running east to Lammerlaws Road. We are interested in acquiring all of this land for the community.
Our application to the Ministers in respect of Forth Ports’ land was acknowledged on 15th Feb 2022 and we received confirmation that it was successful on 11th July. The corresponding dates for the Network Rail land were 16th March acknowledged, 8th July confirmed.
Some of the key points of our application:
- The town and the harbour together constitute Burntisland: harbour is the town’s most defining cultural and heritage asset
- The East dock is a major element of the town’s coastal continuum
- In terms of community use and access the East dock is of fundamental importance to the town and the broader community
- Community ownership would bring largely redundant, vacant land back into beneficial use from social, environmental and economic perspectives
Based on suggestions from the town and some consultation with harbour users, tenants and others, we’ve come up with a variety of possible proposals for how the harbour and land could be used:
- all weather diving facility,
- decommissioning of caustic tank,
- nature reserve,
- campervan/ camping/ eco-pods, with showers and toilet block also available to fisherman,
- fishing tackle depositary,
- Fife Coastal Path loop with on demand bridge,
- heritage museum,
- all tides boat slip,
- extension of artists quarter,
- community owned affordable housing,
- bar-b-que area for all,
- improved access,
- floating restaurant,
- Shank’s Pier Boat Reserve,
- bad weather haven for boats,
- improved safety measures,
- removal of security fencing!
- enhanced facilities for north side including electricity points for ships allowing for docking without generators / engines running,
- renewable energy.
These are initial proposals as required for the purposes of our application, but would be the subject of widespread consultation and ultimate approval of the BHAT membership. So why not join and have your say?
If we were to exercise a right to buy, there would be a ballot of all those on the electoral role in the town to demonstrate majority support for our acquisition, which is a condition of the registration.
Green Freeport
It subsequently became apparent that Burntisland Harbour is required for a “high capacity floating offshore wind integration facility”, part of the Forth Green Freeport. This will include a new jetty leading out to the deep water channel. At a Burntisland Community Council meeting attended by Forth Ports representatives in November 2023 (nine months after the fence was erected barring public access) we were able to put across the following points, which we hope will be given the consideration they deserve:
a. The proposed jetty for assembling floating offshore turbines be run out from the West, rather than the East, Dock. This would concentrate industrial activity in areas historically used for such activity.
b. Provision be made to reduce or eliminate dock related HGV traffic along the High Street and Links Place. Increasing the clearance underneath the rail bridges at the West end of the High Street could achieve this. Additional clearance would also allow double decker buses access to the railway station and any future ferry terminal.
c. Consideration be given to developing the onshore area of the East Dock to improve existing activities – coastal freight, offshore servicing, ferrying, recreational sailing, excursions to the islands, whale watching etc. These activities could be complemented with other recreational and tourist facilities:
recreational vehicle (RV) park, heritage museum, sea bathing, floating restaurant, solar park, nature conservation, boat park, dive training etc and, of course, recreational walking and cycling.
d. The next phase of the Edinburgh tram network is to be a North/South line with the north terminal at Granton. A restored Burntisland all-weather ferry slip would allow the revival of the historical Granton/Burntisland ferry service. Combined with the Active Transport routes already created, or proposed, for Burntisland, the station area could be developed as an Active Transport hub.
We believe that Forth Ports need to consult with the community to determine the optimum use of Burntisland Harbour (and the East Dock in particular) regarding jobs on the one hand and loss of amenity on the other. Sitting tight and denying the community access for both recreation and/or developing alternative ideas is no longer acceptable.
Public access ends
The gates were closed with effect from 6 February 2023. Each time it is lawfully breached by the public, Forth Ports illegally repairs it.
Are there existing rights of access?
Our lawyers BTO of Edinburgh advised in January 2024 that public access rights to Burntisland Harbour do indeed exist. Forth Ports continue to ignore our requests to meet with them. We therefore launched an “Obey The Law” campaign, asking Fife Council to carry out their statutory obligation to enforce access rights and serve a notice on Forth Ports requiring the gates to be opened. As at November 2024 we are still waiting and are therefore now planning direct action.
Can you help?
If you have any knowledge or experience of public access as described above, could you please contact David Paty at BurntislandHAT@gmail.com (attention David Paty). David is collecting and collating the information we seek. This can be something as simple as having walked from Lammerlaws Road to the station on your way to and from work, regularly fished from the southern or western breakwater or just walked your dog.
A simple email along the lines of: “I, Jock Tamson of 14 Lochies Road, Burntisland commuted to my work at Rosyth Dockyard by train for 14 years between 1972 and 1986, accessing the railway station via the East Dock from Lammerlaws Road. As a boy I helped my father, James Tamson, moor, load and unload his fishing boat at Shank’s Pier. For over twenty years we both fished for mackerel from the Western and later the Southern Breakwater. We were never challenged by Forth Ports, Burntisland Ship Builders, Consafe, the Royal Navy, MoD, or others for doing so. I would be pleased to discuss this with David Paty and can be reached text 01592 87xxxx or by email at Happyislander@btxxx.com. “
Further Initiatives
We are pursuing include feasibility studies looking at the infrastructure and ecology of land at and around the harbour (so that we know what we’re dealing with should the right to buy be triggered), determining areas of archaeological interest, assisting the Active Transport initiative in developing “green routes” and looking into other land in the area which could maybe be brought into community ownership.