THE delay in a report revealing if Rosyth residents were subject to additional air pollution when the Forth Road Bridge closed last year has been branded "disappointing" by a local councillor.

Residents living near Admiralty Road had to put up with constant traffic as a result of diversions put in place when the bridge closed for almost three weeks in December after a 20mm crack was discovered in the steelwork.

Fears of a huge increase in pollution and noise from the additional traffic led to Transport Scotland undertaking a report on traffic data and air quality.

The results of the report were due back in March, however, they still have not been published more than six months on.

Rosyth councillor Mike Shirkie said he and local residents wanted answers and were disappointed that they were still not available.

"We had HGVS nose to tail from 6.30 in the morning right through the day," he explained. "They were queuing to get through Rosyth and were stop-start so there were very heavy fumes along all of Admiralty Road. People who lived along there couldn't open their windows for the fumes.

"We are now told by Transport Scotland that is it going to be the end of the year before we see any results or findings," he added. "It is quite disappointing that it has taken so long because we thought at the time it was a health risk and I am really quite concerned both for the residents and for the kids who had to walk along the road to get to school."

Fife Council's environment and transportation spokesman John Wincott said the delay was not acceptable. “People have been very patient in waiting for Transport Scotland to come out with the findings of this review," he said. "The problem is anecdotally people feel there was a big spike in pollution due to the diverted traffic. If that is the case there maybe needs to be some health screening as a follow-up to see if it has caused any problem.

“But until we know if there has been any pollution, it is very difficult for people to move on and see what they can do.

“To take this long to write a report feels really excessive and I would urge Transport Scotland to expedite this."

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said they were working hard to get the report finished. “We want to reassure the communities involved that we are doing all we can and working with Fife Council and our other partners to complete the report as quickly as possible," said the spokesperson.

“This is the first time that this type of in-depth analysis has been carried out and work is continuing to analyse the huge amount of data which has been acquired from a number of sources so that the findings can be published before the end of the year.”