Two Fife Sites Shortlisted for Heathrow Logistics Hubs

Wednesday 12 June 2019

Heathrow has unveiled a shortlist of 18 sites, including two Fife-based sites, which are in the running to help deliver the airport’s expansion plans. Two sites in Rosyth have made the shortlist for the Heathrow expansion logistics hubs. Babcock Marine Rosyth and Forth Ports are in the running to help deliver the expanded airport having showcased a strong base of local support, Fife’s thriving supply chain, convenient connectivity links and the potential to tap into a skilled workforce. In the autumn, these two Fife sites will have the opportunity to pitch to the airport’s bosses for their chance to become one of the final four construction centres, which will be announced early next year, ahead of work starting in 2021. The final four sites will become construction centres that will help to deliver Britain’s new runway, bringing jobs and economic opportunities. Welcoming the news in Fife, Councillor David Ross, Co-Leader of Fife Council, said: “Fife is in an unrivalled position having two out of four Scottish sites in contention for this investment. We look forward to working with partners in making a strong case, building on Fife’s key role in recent major infrastructure schemes like the Queensferry Crossing. “Both Fife sites offer excellent transport links, great infrastructure and competitive land along with a strong and innovative supply chain of local companies. With work scheduled to start in 2021, if implemented, this project will bring huge benefits to industry and business here.” Heathrow will be the first major infrastructure project in the UK to pioneer the large-scale use of Logistics Hubs – aiming to build as much of the project offsite as possible. The hubs will work by pre-assembling components offsite before transporting them in consolidated loads to Heathrow just as they are needed.Sean Donaldson, Managing Director of Babcock’s facility in Rosyth, said: “Babcock’s manufacturing and logistics capabilities at our world-class infrastructure in Rosyth stands ready to provide an efficient, affordable and sustainable solution to meet Heathrow’s varying demands.” Sean added:“We look forward to the next stage in this process to deliver a programme of work that will ‘make every journey better’ and help Heathrow maintain a world-leading position as a hub airport.” Derek Knox, Senior Port Manager, Port of Rosyth, commented: “The Port of Rosyth offers a great location, land and expertise for a logistics hub of this scale. There has been recent significant investment in the Port and it played a key role as the logistics hub for the construction project of the new Queensferry Crossing. We look forward to hearing from the Heathrow team about the next stage of the process.”