REVISED DESIGN FRAMEWORK FOR WESTERN HARBOUR APPROVED BY EDINBURGH CITY COUNCIL TODAY

The Revised Design Framework (RDF)* for a major development at Western Harbour in Leith has today (10 October) been unanimously approved by the Development Management Sub Committee of the City of Edinburgh Council who were positive about the submission.

Cllr Maureen Childs, Vice Convener Planning Committee commented: “The work that has been done on this has been exemplary.”

Cllr Neil Gardiner, Convenor of Planning Committee also said in the meeting: “lots of good work gone in and it really does show the benefit of a spatial plan led system.”

Cllr Chas Booth also said “this is a good application…I welcome this application.”

The vision of Western Harbour is to create a vibrant waterfront community which acts as the catalyst for a wider regeneration of the waterfront. The development proposals will deliver a residential led, mixed-use community with a new park, a proposed new primary school, shops and a waterfront promenade.

Commenting on the decision today Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive said: “We are pleased with the decision today (10 October) by City of Edinburgh Council to approve our Revised Design Framework for Western Harbour in Leith. Forth Ports and Rettie & Co. have been working together for over two years on these proposals that will result in the delivery of a community of 1600 mid-market rental home and park which should also create the setting for the new primary school for the area.

“Through our other recently completed developments at Harbour Point and Harbour Gateway, we know there is a great deal of demand from people looking for these mid rent homes and an opportunity to create a community. Our proposal represents a major boost for the Leith economy and for Edinburgh as a whole and we now hope for a positive outcome from the Scottish Ministers on the possible loan funding for this project. Work is well underway preparing a full planning application in readiness for submission before the end of February 2019.”

Matthew Benson, Director at Rettie & Co who are acting as Development Managers on Western Harbour, said: “Today’s announcement marks a major milestone on the journey to create a managed Build to Rent community of critical mass in Scotland. This latest development could not have happened without close collaboration across the public and private sectors and we will now apply our collective energies to the implementation phase.”

*Link to Revised Design Framework here: Item 7.2: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/4552/development_management_sub-committee

Also a link to the video recording of the committee meeting: https://edinburgh.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/372396

10 October 2018
– ends –

An emergency response safety exercise, which simulates an oil spill in the Firth of Forth, will take place on Tuesday 2nd October along the Aberdour to Kirkcaldy coastline.

Clearwater Forth – the emergency pollution control safety plan – is tested annually by Forth Ports, the statutory river authority for the Firth of Forth, and requires the close involvement of local agencies and river users. Fife Council will partner with Forth Ports for the exercise this year. It is likely that the exercise will result in some activity around the Aberdour to Kirkcaldy coastline and residents should not be alarmed by this.

Alan McPherson, Chief Harbour Master of Forth Ports, said: “Safety is a top priority for Forth Ports and all the other organisations involved in this exercise. These annual exercises help us all gain experience so that we are better equipped to respond speedily and effectively should a real oil spillage ever occur in the River Forth. The River Forth is one of the UK’s busiest waterways with over 3000 vessels navigating.

“No-one should be alarmed if they see activity, it’s an exercise and there is NO risk to the environment, people or property. We look at all kinds of situations during exercises and build on any lessons that arise so that we can improve our emergency procedures and be better placed to protect the local communities and the environment.”

Keith Winter, Fife Council Executive Director, added: “At Fife Council we know how essential it is to be prepared for emergencies of this kind. We regularly carry out exercises like this with our community partners and we are pleased to work with Forth Ports in this safety exercise.”

Clearwater Forth is an established emergency response plan designed to handle incidents on the river which may involve the risk of oil pollution. The plan is the responsibility of Forth Ports and is only required to be tested every three years. However, Forth Ports tests this on an annual basis as the ports group views safety as a priority.

26 September 2018 – Ends –

Forth Ports Limited, one of the UK’s largest port groups, has for the first time won the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award at last night’s Logistics Awards 2018 in London.

The independent awards celebrate logistics industry excellence across a range of areas with Forth Ports being praised by the panel for their many community projects and skills development in the UK. Across the business, corporate social responsibility is key and is part of the commitment to the legacy the ports have with their communities.

Forth Ports supports many community projects across its locations around the UK including Tilbury in London and Grangemouth, Leith, Rosyth and Dundee in Scotland. The business has a strong commitment to community engagement and building networks within its own workforce and with local people.

Commenting on the award win, Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports said: “This is a fantastic accolade for Forth Ports to win and we thank the Logistics Awards for recognizing all the work that we do. We are proud to receive this award on behalf of the many people across our business who work hard to ensure that the local communities feel part of what we do. We are thrilled to have won this award particularly as we also celebrate our 50th anniversary as a group this year.”

Forth Ports has achieved success in the development and up-skilling of its own employees, through an award winning Logistics Training Academy in Tilbury. In addition a new Skills and Business Centre will open this year in Scotland. Last year 652 training and plant skills courses were delivered with 2327 people attending the courses throughout the group. Forth Ports also engages with local schools, colleges and universities by providing experience days, internships and work placements.

Forth Ports is proud to support many charities and community events that deliver local benefits. Forth Ports has also invested in major local projects such as Tilbury on the Thames Trust (TTT). TTT has a board of six trustees from Forth Ports and the local community, bringing expertise in skills and training, regeneration and local community knowledge together. Forth Ports also works with the armed forces and DWP Trainees to give them the skills to return to the labour force.

New Liebherr Crane sails into Port of Grangemouth
27-08-18

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 27 August 2018

The Port of Grangemouth has this week welcomed its new multimillion pound container crane which is set to increase the number of ship to shore cranes at the port by 50% and change the skyline at Scotland’s largest container facility.

The addition of the third Liebherr container crane to Forth Ports’ fleet is part of a major investment programme at the port to increase handling capacity and service for customers. The 45 metre high crane, which weighs 524 tonnes, arrived in large sections on board the heavy load carrier vessel the Eemslift Ellen after sailing from Liebherr’s state of the art facility in Killarney, South West Ireland, where the crane was designed and built.

The crane has been unloaded onto the quayside (see images) and will now be constructed by the expert build team from Liebherr on site at the port. The crane will be ready to lift its first cargo by late October and will improve vessel turnaround times, increase capacity for growth and support existing operations. The new crane is also future proofed to enable taller straddle carriers to work underneath the crane legs, allowing the port to further increase its overall container storage capability.

Derek Knox, Grangemouth’s Port Manager, said: “This is an exciting time for the port as we welcome our new ship to shore crane. We handle some of Scotland’s most valuable exports, such as fine foods and drinks, so it is important that we deliver fast turnaround times to maintain the vessel schedules and ensure their reliability to service the Scottish export market. The new crane adds to our fleet of Liebherr ship-to-shore cranes and will provide consistency for the operations and engineering team. The Liebherr team will build the crane like a giant Meccano set over the coming weeks and we look forward to its introduction to our operations for the benefit of our customers in the autumn.”

Gerry Bunyan, Sales and Marketing Manager from Liebherr Container Cranes said: “In 2006 the Port of Grangemouth received its first Liebherr ship to shore container crane, a second followed the year after. Since that time, the cranes have been key components in the port’s success. We are thrilled to be able to continue our partnership and supply a third container crane to the port. It is particularly satisfying when a customer recognises the value that a Liebherr container crane can bring to their operation. We look forward to watching this crane help to increase further the business at Scotland’s leading container port.”

Liebherr is one of the world’s leading port crane manufacturers and this new crane, which can handle vessels with 14 containers stowed across the width of the deck, is part of Forth Ports’ focus on maintaining Grangemouth as Scotland’s number one container port and providing the facilities required to service future container volume growth for export and import cargoes both in European and worldwide markets.

As part of the ongoing major investment programme at Grangemouth, the port introduced three new ESC340 straddle carriers in 2017, increasing the fleet at the container terminal to 16. The port also added a new Hyster empty container handler to the fleet. The new straddles, empty container handler and the new Liebherr crane will increase the handling capacity for both conventional containers and reefers (refrigerated containers). A new terminal operating system and additional storage capacity have also been introduced in 2018. The construction of a new 100,000 sq.ft. warehouse within the port estate is due to be completed by December this year. It will directly link to the container terminal with access to the rail siding.

More than £6 billion worth of goods passes through Grangemouth each year including food and drink, steel plate, timber, paper and equipment for the oil and gas industry.

27 August 2018 – ends –

PRESS RELEASE

23 August 2018

FORTH PORTS REACHES AWARDS FINAL FOR COMMUNITY WORK

Forth Ports Limited, one of the UK’s largest port groups, has for the first time reached the final of the Logistics Awards 2018 in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category. The independent awards celebrate logistics industry excellence across a range of areas with the winners being announced on 20th September in London.

Forth Ports supports many community projects across its locations around the UK including Tilbury in London and Grangemouth, Leith, Rosyth and Dundee in Scotland. The business has a strong commitment to community engagement and building networks within its own workforce and with local people.

Forth Ports has achieved success in the development and up-skilling of its own employees, through an award winning Logistics Training Academy in Tilbury. In addition a new Skills and Business Centre will open later this year in Scotland. Last year 652 training and plant skills courses were delivered with 2327 people attending the courses throughout the group. Forth Ports also engages with local schools, colleges and universities by providing experience days, internships and work placements.

Forth Ports is proud to support many charities and community events that deliver local benefits. Forth Ports has also invested in major local projects such as Tilbury on the Thames Trust (TTT). TTT has a board of six trustees from Forth Ports and the local community, bringing expertise in skills and training, regeneration and local community knowledge together. Forth Ports also works with the armed forces and DWP Trainees to give them the skills to return to the labour force.

Commenting on reaching the final, Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Officer at Forth Ports said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for this Logistics Awards particularly as we also celebrate our 50th anniversary as a group. Across the business, corporate social responsibility is key to our success and is part of our commitment to the legacy we have with our communities. CSR is also a great way to develop our employees by engaging in the wider community.

Port towns are often built on trade and generations of families who are part of the community that grows around it and work within it. We work hard to ensure that our local community feels part of what we do. We look forward to the award ceremony in September and wish everyone nominated good luck on the night.”

23 August 2018 – ends –

Forth Ports, the UK’s third largest port group, has today (27 July 2018) officially welcomed two new multimillion pound vessels to join their fleet of tugs and pilot boats working on the River Forth. The £6million investment in the two vessels to work on Scotland’s largest waterway sees the arrival of a powerful Sanmar tug and a state-of-the-art pilot boat from Holyhead Marine.

The tug was built by leading ship builder Sanmar, is 28 metres long with two engines producing 2,700 brake horsepower and a bollard pull of 70 tonnes. It also has fire-fighting capabilities. Tugs are work horses and have a long life span which can last decades and this new tug demonstrates the latest technology and significantly enhances the overall towage capability across the Forth Estuary. The pilot boat was designed in Scotland by Carmac Design and was built in Wales by Holyhead Marine. The pilot boat is 16 metres long and is one of the most advanced boats in operation. It is the latest evolution of a proven pilot vessel design which is used worldwide. [NB: please see notes for more details on the use and spec of the tug and pilot boat].

A ceremony was held at the Leith Cruise Terminal today where both vessels were blessed by the Port Chaplain Rev Joe O’Donnell and then the tug was named ‘Craigleith’ by Janice Hammond and the new pilot boat was named ‘Forth Puma’ by Marion Long, to follow the traditional of females naming a marine vessel. Janice is the wife of Forth Ports Chief Executive Charles Hammond, Charles has worked for the port business for 29 years. Marion Long has worked for Forth Ports for over 40 years in the group’s Edinburgh head office supporting the Chief Financial Officer.

The tug is called Craigleith, following another tradition of the tugs on the Forth being named after islands in the estuary. The Craigleith joins the Fidra, Seal Carr and Oxcar tugs already in service. The pilot boats on the Forth are traditionally named after big cats and the Forth Puma joins the fleet with Forth Leopard and Forth Tiger.

Alan McPherson, Chief Harbour Master for Forth Ports’ Scottish operations, said: “This is an exciting day for the marine team as we welcome two fantastic boats into our fleet on the River Forth. The River Forth is one of the largest and busiest waterways in the UK with over 3000 vessels navigating in the estuary including very large crude carriers (VLCC) to Hound Point, container vessels into Scotland’s busiest container terminal at Grangemouth; cruise liners calling at Leith, Rosyth and at anchorages in Queensferry and Newhaven; and gas carriers to and from Braefoot Bay. It is therefore important that we provide an excellent service and the Craigleith and the Forth Puma will further enhance this.”

Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Office for Forth Ports Group said “This investment in marine vessels demonstrates the Group’s commitment to maintaining safe operations on the Forth as well as delivering excellent services to our customers. This is part of our ongoing investment programme in Scotland which sees us invest to support the key Scottish industries ranging from oil and gas and chemicals to agriculture and tourism. It is really satisfying to see this type of modern equipment being deployed here on the Forth and the enthusiasm which our employees are developing new skills on this type of equipment. ”

Capital Cruising is today (24 July) celebrating a major win for Edinburgh as the UNESCO City is named Western Europe’s Top Cruise Destination 2018 for the first time. The award, managed by Cruise Critic, the world’s largest online cruise resource, is based solely on consumer ratings and reviews posted to the Cruise Critic website over the year – so specifically first-hand feedback from cruisers themselves.

Edinburgh was named the Top Cruise Destination in the British Isles & Western Europe category – in Cruise Critic’s 2018 Cruisers’ Choice Destination Awards – beating other amazing cities including Lisbon, Bilbao and Amsterdam.

Capital Cruising, who run seven busy cruise terminals and anchorages across the UK is the only port operator to offer unrivalled fast access to Edinburgh for cruise passengers. With ports in Leith, Rosyth and anchorages in Newhaven and South Queensferry, passengers are within easy reach of the famous attractions in Edinburgh including Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood. This year (2018), Capital Cruising will welcome 114 liners into the River Forth with over 150,000 passengers onboard.

Commenting on the award, Rob Mason, Head of Cruise for Capital Cruising in Scotland said: “This is a significant global recognition for Edinburgh and we are thrilled with the award especially as this is feedback directly from cruise passengers. Our cruise business is thriving and we are seeing our cruise calls grow each year. We are the only operator to offer the closest cruise connection to the beautiful city of Edinburgh and we have invested significantly over the past few years to provide the most direct access for liners of all sizes to Scotland’s Capital. My thanks to our hard working cruise team and the 50 volunteers from Cruise Forth who work tirelessly all season warmly welcoming thousands of passengers to Edinburgh.”

Adam Coulter, UK Managing Editor, Cruise Critic said “Our data analysis shows that destination continues to be a top consideration for holiday makers looking to cruise, regardless of whether they are new to cruise or seasoned cruise travellers. We are delighted that Edinburgh has pipped so many other wonderful Western European ports to the post to be crowned the best destination in the British Isles & Western Europe. Not only does this highlight the rise in popularity of destinations more known for their immersive, educational and experiential offerings, rather than just their temperate climate or great beaches, but also shows just how attractive Scotland is proving to travellers across the globe.”

Chairman of marketing organisation, Cruise Scotland, Andrew Hemphill, said: “Capital Cruising’s award is well deserved as an excellent example of the high standard of services and facilities provided by our member ports in continuing to attract record numbers of cruise passengers to Scotland’s many outstanding attractions.”

Following the success of the community celebrations last month to mark the 70th anniversary of the Empire Windrush arrival into the Port of Tilbury, the port will once again open its doors for a community Open Day on Saturday 21 July.

Held every two years, the free programme of events will run throughout the day and begin with the Tilbury Docker Procession at 10.30am leaving Tilbury Town Square on a walk to the London Cruise Terminal. The procession with the 16ft Docker puppet, dancers and music will have a carnival feel and a fitting start to the day.

Innovative arts company Teatro Container from the port town of Valparaiso in Chile will be setting up a pop up kitchen container at the Cruise Terminal where people can share heritage stories and traditions based around food.

Events on the day will appeal to all ages and include:
Vintage bus tours of port;
Historical tours of the cruise terminal;
Port of Tilbury Police;
Grade 2 listed railway station open;
Green room café and heritage displays

Paul Dale, Asset and Site Director from The Port of Tilbury said: “We always enjoy hosting community events at the port and at this bi-annual Open Day we get the chance to let people inside the port for them to see what goes on behind the gates! There are a lot of activities planned for the 21 July starting with the carnival style procession of the Tilbury Docker and I hope that everyone is able to come along and enjoy the day with us.”

Media enquiries only: Debbie Johnston – debbie@sprengthomson.com / 0141 548 5191

Event enquiries: Lucy-Emma Harris – lucy@tott.org.uk

The Port of Tilbury – London’s major port – welcomed Stephen Metcalfe MP for a port tour by boat on Friday 13 July (photographs attached).

The tour was led by port Directors, Paul Dale and Peter Ward, and covered Tilbury’s substantial business and employment growth, skills development and the need for improved road connectivity. Tilbury is the fastest growing UK port and is set to double its direct employment and business across the quay in the next 10 years. Forth Ports is calling for a direct connection from the expanding port area onto the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.

Peter Ward, Commercial Director, welcomed Stephen’s visit: “The Port of Tilbury’s 130 businesses need room to expand to fuel the UK’s economic growth. This visit was a great chance to showcase our development plans at Tilbury2 and discuss the challenges ahead.”

Stephen Metcalfe, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, Apprenticeship Ambassador and Government Envoy for the 2018 Year of Engineering, said: “Tilbury has ambitious plans to grow, which are matched by their commitment to training and development. Their dedicated training academy is a beacon of best practice for the logistics industry and I’m heartened they’re playing an active part in the ‘Year of Engineering’ campaign to promote the varied careers inside the port.”

Ahead of the Engineering Showcase in Basildon on Saturday 14 July where the Port had a stand to promote local career opportunities, Paul Dale, Asset and Site Director, commented: “Tilbury invests heavily in the development of its workforce and promotes career opportunities locally to ensure that our future jobs growth benefits south Essex. In 2017-18, we supported 51 apprentices across the port, from business administration and management, to operations and engineering.”

17 July 2018 -ends-

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