Argyll and Bute ‘has been very poorly served’ in a key document that will decide transport spending for the next 20 years, a new report has claimed.
Only two projects in the area are listed in Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) – a more reliable route for the Rest and Be Thankful and a fixed link to Mull.
The council has asked for road projects totalling £60m and £3.5m in air transport infrastructure to be included, but these were left out.
And a report by executive director Kirsty Flanagan says of the Mull proposal that ‘the only beneficiary is Transport Scotland’.
A new route for the A83 trunk road through Glen Croe is a priority because the existing road is often closed by landslides – the STPR2 recommends that this continues, but Ms Flanagan’s report criticises this.
“It is considered that this recommendation should not have been included in this document as this was already a clear commitment long before STPR2 was commissioned,” her report states.
“Also there is little evidence of this accelerated timescale by being included.”
Transport Scotland also wants to investigate replacing ferry links to islands including Mull with fixed links – bridges, tunnels or causeways, saying tis could produce long-term savings as well as improving access to the islands.
But the council report states: “Unfortunately, the inclusion of this recommendation provides further evidence that the final consultation responses were disregarded, as it was requested that this recommendation be removed.
“In fact at no point in the whole process was this ever discussed by the regional consultation group as a possible option to consider.
“In addition the current infrastructure on Mull and the adjacent Scottish mainland is not suitable – transport infrastructure on Mull currently struggles to cope due to the increase in vehicles since the implementation of Road Equivalent Tariffs (RET).
“It would appear that the only beneficiary is Transport Scotland given that this would appear as a cost saving exercise against the monetary maintenance burden of operating the ferries that currently operate the routes to Mull.”
The response also raises wider concerns about transport issues: “The current transport policy network is increasingly complex and very difficult to understand.
“For example, we have a National Transport Strategy 2, STPR2 which will now be delivered in 2 phases, the Islands Connectivity Plan will be the successor to the National Ferries Plan and a separate National Aviation Strategy.
“Governance of transport is also overly complicated with a lack of consistency around funding and roles / responsibilities.”
The report will be considered by the council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee on Thursday.
The full STPR2 document is here.
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