Breaking the Link: Fife and the Forth Road Bridge closure

The Forth Road Bridge - a key logistical asset connecting Fife to Edinburgh, the Lothians, and beyond - was closed from the 4th to the 23rd of December 2015, which impacted the Fife communities in a number of ways. 'Breaking the Link' is a research project run by the Carnegie UK Trust exploring how Fife's local communities responded to the Forth Road Bridge closure. As part of the project, the Trust commissioned Ipsos Scotland to conduct a telephone survey of 500 Fife residents, to explore Fife residents’ use of the Forth Road Bridge and the consequences of the Bridge’s closure on residents’ lifestyles and consumer behaviour and use of services, in particular covering use of community resources and facilities. The Trust published the results from this survey today as part of a report that looks at the impact of this disruption on Fife-based businesses as well as residents. The report also makes use of transport data from a range of other sources, including local authority and the media.

A press release published today by the Trust says the survey “reveals that residents in Fife rely heavily on the Forth Road Bridge for employment, leisure and social activity, raising questions about the investment needed in local towns to make them more attractive and resilient places to meet the modern needs of residents”.

• Download the report

Technical note

Ipsos interviewed a sample of 500 adults aged between 16 and 75, from across the social spectrum, and proportionately from each of five different areas of Fife, Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay, Kirkcaldy, and Cupar. Interviews were conducted by telephone 1st – 8th February 2016. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population.