'Public should help name' new Forth bridge

STV
Forth bridge: Public urged to help name new one©STV

The public should have their say on the name of the new Forth bridge, a Labour MSP has suggested.

Fife MSP John Park wants a public consultation on the naming of the £2.3bn crossing to replace the Forth Road Bridge.

His preference is the Ark Royal Bridge, named after the recently retired Navy flagship, although he has also suggested a raft of Fife-born notables such as industrialist Andrew Carnegie, economist Adam Smith or even early Labour MP Jennie Lee, wife of NHS founder Aneurin Bevan.

Mr Park said: "The new Forth crossing is going to the biggest engineering project in Scotland for a generation and it's only right that the public's voice is heard on what it should be called.

"For some people it may just be that simply calling it the New Forth Bridge would suffice but given the rich industrial and cultural heritage of Scotland there is no shortage of potential names for the new bridge.

"Given the former naval bases of Rosyth on the Fife side of the River and Port Edgar on the South Queensferry side, I would like to see some link in the name of the new bridge to the naval history of the area.

"My own personal preference would be to name it after HMS Ark Royal. But obviously famous Scots from the area such as Andrew Carnegie, Adam Smith and Jennie Lee would all feature in any discussion about a name for the new bridge.

"That is why I have written to the Scottish Government asking their officials facilitate a consultation with the public so everyone can have their say."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie, an opponent of the new bridge since the project's inception, suggested a few tongue-in-cheek alternatives such as Salmond`s Folly or The White Elephant Bridge.

He said: "It's odd to see Labour MSPs helping Alex Salmond blow more than £2bn on an election photo-op at the taxpayers' expense when the existing bridge can be fixed for a fraction of that.

"Labour have truly lost their way if they think a vanity project like this is what Scotland needs in the face of dire Tory cuts, when the money could be spent on affordable homes or green jobs."