World Construction Network

Daily Newsletter

11 August 2023

Daily Newsletter

Fife Council has received a planning application from UK’s Network Rail to construct a bridge over the new Levenmouth Rail link in Scotland.

The £116.6m Scottish Government-funded Levenmouth rail link project will restore the railway line between Thornton Junction and Leven in Fife, Scotland.

The bridge will serve as a safe crossing point over the latest railway.

The structure will preserve the route between Kirkland and Mountfleurie and is part of Fife Council’s upgrade and development of active transport routes in the area.

Network Rail senior sponsor Martin McKinlay said: “We’ve been working closely with Fife Council to develop a plan which means people can still cross the railway at this well-used crossing point.

“The proposals come at a time when people locally can see the railway becoming a reality. The track is now in place through this location and is moving closer to the site of the new Leven station.

“Our attention can now turn to how we enable people to safely cross the railway in the future and the intention is to have this structure in place prior to the railway opening.”

Construction of the bridge and its related paths and cycle paths will commence later this year, with a diversion route in place.

The project is expected to be completed before the railway opens in early 2024.

McKinlay added: “Given that this is such a significant structure, we know that there will be some disruption during its construction as the path will need to close. This is to allow the work to be delivered safely and we will do what we can to minimise any inconvenience.”

Fife Council received funds from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund to establish the Levenmouth active travel network.

ESG 2.0 marks a shift towards stricter environmental rules

ESG is moving into a different era, which we call ESG 2.0. While ESG 1.0 was driven by voluntary corporate action, spurred by pressure from activist consumers and investors, ESG 2.0 is being driven by a new wave of government policies. The EU has taken the regulatory lead, with rules introduced or in the pipeline that will price emissions, regulate the use of the terms ‘ESG’ and ‘sustainability’ in marketing materials, and make ESG reporting mandatory. The US has taken a different approach, favoring less regulation and more financial support in the form of tax breaks for clean industry (renewables plus nuclear and hydrogen). China is planning to expand its emissions trading system to more sectors, decarbonize its heavy industry, and ramp up its use of renewables. The new policy direction is mainly motivated by the ambition to hit net zero emissions targets. But on top of this, governments are now competing for clean industry and trying to challenge China’s leadership on the production of the world’s green technologies such as solar panels and batteries, as well as the production and refinement of materials needed for energy transition such as lithium. These driving forces are leading to policy that will impact every sector, not just heavy industry, and will keep ESG near the top of the regulatory agenda over the longer term.