Rosyth

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Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe) (Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saoithe) is a large village located on the Firth of Forth on Scotland's east coast, a mile (1.6 km) south of Dunfermline, Fife, and 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.

[edit] Docks

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. 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 1997. 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.

An overnight ferry service links Rosyth with Zeebrugge in Belgium once every other day (see Superfast Ferries).

[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 for further development. 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.

Computer printer firm Lexmark is to close its manufacturing plant situated in Rosyth, with the loss of 700 jobs. Workers at the firm's plant in Admiralty Park, were told on January 24, 2006 that 500 jobs would be cut by April with the last 200 going by the end of the year. The American-owned company, which makes inkjet cartridges for printers, has been in Scotland for 10 years.