THE Scarborough Muir Group have launched ‘Queensferry One’ – a new masterplan for Rosyth Waterfront – to coincide with the opening of the Queensferry Crossing.

The £250 million development is planned for a 120 acres site next to the new bridge and could bring 8,000 jobs when completed.

The group said that two land sales are near completion and, if approved by Fife Council, Queensferry One will consist of 450,000 square feet of new offices, 800,000 sq ft of industrial, manufacturing and logistics warehouses, 60,000 sq ft for roadside type uses such as a service station and food outlets, and a 120 bed budget hotel.

And they believe their new vision for the site complies with the new FIFEplan, the council's local development plan which states what can be built and where.

Their previous plan, a £500 million proposal that promised a dynamic quayside with a parade of shops, supermarket, hotel, cafés, bars, offices, a leisure centre and new homes, was repeatedly stymied as the council refused to change the land designation, from port / industrial use only, to allow mixed use.

William McAlister, property director of Scarborough Muir Group, said: “The opening of the Queensferry Crossing means that Fife is truly open for business as connectivity issues are addressed.

"Queensferry One has a unique opportunity to take advantage of this and offers the perfect multi-modal hub, with direct port, rail, motorway and public transport links.

“It is a highly flexible site and benefits from access to a skilled workforce.

"The masterplan reflects the primarily commercial uses that the site has been allocated for in the new FIFEplan and will provide a stunning setting for businesses looking to relocate, expand or set up.

"We estimate that 8,000 people could be employed when the site is fully developed.”

The group said that land sales for two plots within Queensferry One, extending to five acres, are near legal completion and that two 10,000 sq ft units are likely to be built speculatively.

In March, the group blamed the council's “perverse logic” for sinking their ambitious £500m mixed use plans, and stated: “The decision to restrict development was made by Fife Council’s planning department who ignored the representations made by the local community, local councillors and landowners and produced their ‘vision’ for Rosyth.”

It said the decision was merely rubber-stamped by the Scottish Government and added: “Fife Council, in identifying the waterfront site as being suitable for port and port-related uses, only showed no consideration has been given to the financial viability of such a proposal.”

The group said that when they bought the site, part of the former naval base and oil fuel depot, in 1998, the land use was designated as mixed use.

Since then they have "undertaken one of the largest remediation and demolition projects in Scotland" to bring the site back to life, which had cost more than £16m.

The government reporter examining the draft FIFEplan had recommended that the site should remain for port / industrial use.

However, before it was finalised Scottish ministers asked the council to modify the plan and prepare an investment framework to support the regeneration of the waterfront.

At the time, the council said: "This will allow the council to assess, consider and promote the best use of this nationally important economic asset, and ensure co-ordination of development on different sites at the strategic location of the Rosyth Waterfront."