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Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe) (Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saidhe or Ros Saoithe) is a town located on the Firth of Forth on Scotland's east coast, a mile (1.6 km) south of the centre of Dunfermline, almost continuous with it and neighboring Inverkeithing. Rosyth is approximately 12 miles (19 km) north west of Edinburgh. The port has the only direct ferry service to the European mainland from Scotland.
Rosyth is represented by the Dunfermline and West Fife Westminster constituency, and the Dunfermline West Scottish Parliament constituency.
Rosyth railway station is on the Fife Circle Line.
[edit] Schools
- Camdean Primary School
- Kings Road Primary School (the school was burnt down in June 2001 and was re-opened the next year)
- Park Road Primary School
- St Johns Primary
The area is best known for its large dockyard, formerly the Royal Naval Dockyard Rosyth, construction of which began in 1909. The town was planned as a garden city with accommodation for the construction workers and dockyard workers. Today, the dockyard is almost 1,300 acres (5 km²) in size, a large proportion of which was reclaimed during construction.
Rosyth and nearby Charlestown were major centres of shipbreaking activity, notably the salvage of much of the German fleet scuttled at Gutter Sound, Scapa Flow.[1]
The associated naval base closed in 1994, and no Royal Navy ships are permanently based at Rosyth, though there are frequent visitors.
Rosyth's dockyards became the very first in the Royal Navy to be privatised when a company named Babcock International acquired the site in 1987. The privatisation followed almost a century of contribution to the defence of the United Kingdom which spanned two World Wars and the Cold War with the Soviet Union, during which Rosyth became a key nuclear submarine maintenance establishment. When the final submarine refit finished in 2003, a project to undertake early nuclear decommissioning of the submarine refit and allied facilities - Project RD83 - began pre-planning. The project was funded by MoD, in accordance with the contractual agreement in place following the sale of the dockyard, but management and sub-contracting is the responsibility of the dockyard owner, Babcock Engineering Services , a member of the Babcock International Group. The main decommissioning sub-contractor is Edmund Nuttall, and work began in 2006. It is expected to complete in 2010, when most of the areas occupied by the submarine refit facilities will have been returned to brownfield status and be ready for redevelopment. The dockyard is the site for final assembly of the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy's which are the outcome of the Royal Navy's CVF (future carrier) project.
An overnight ferry service links Rosyth with Zeebrugge in Belgium once every other day (see Superfast Ferries).
The fifteenth century Rosyth Castle stands on the perimeter of the dockyard complex, at the entry to the ferry terminal and was once surrounded by the Firth of Forth on almost all sides, until land reclamation by the docks in the early 1900's.
[edit] Redevelopment
Scottish Enterprise Fife is now working in partnership with various private sector organisations to explore the future development of Rosyth. The agency is looking at ways to expand the ferry services to other European and domestic ports. It also wants to help create new business infrastructure in and around Rosyth – which in turn will bring economic benefits to Fife and beyond.
Three areas around the port of Rosyth are being developed:
Surplus land and buildings owned by engineering giant Babcock, which operates the naval dockyard, is being offered to external companies. The new Rosyth Business Park offers existing office and warehouse space – and the opportunity for custom-built properties.
The main dock area – operated by Forth Ports – is ripe. Since opening in 1997, the port has seen rising timber and cargo vessels use the facility. Its warehouse and logistics facilities make an ideal choice for exporters and importers.
A site owned by Teesmuir/Teesland is being developed into an £80 million business park – called Rosyth Europarc. More than 13,000 square meters of office and hi-tech manufacturing have already been developed. Companies like Intelligent Finance and Bank of Scotland are on site. To complement these developments, a new £8.4 million road is being built to provide an enhanced link to the nearby M90 motorway. Work began on the new road early in 2006, and it was completed in spring 2007. Scarborough Muir are currently engaged on the full-scale demolition of the former Naval Oil Fuel depot, releasing a large area of land for industrial/commercial/residential redevelopment.
[edit] References
- , Buxton, Ian L. (1992). Metal Industries: shipbreaking at Rosyth and Charlestown. World Ship Society, 104. OCLC 28508051. Ships scrapped there include the Mauretania and much of the German Fleet at Scapa Flow. Ships listed with owners and dates sold.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 56°02'N, 3°26'W
(Source: Wikipedia) |