A KEY Scottish trunk road should not be dualled because there is “no economic or environmental case” to do so, the Greens have said.
It comes with Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop due to give a statement to parliament about plans to dual the A96, which runs between Inverness and Aberdeen.
The SNP first pledged to dual the A96 in the 2011 election manifesto with which they won a majority at Holyrood. The resulting Scottish Government spelled out its plans for the road in May 2013, and the project has been ongoing in some form or another since then.
In 2021, the A96 Corridor Review was launched by the Scottish Government after the SNP struck a governing agreement with the Greens. It was tasked with conducting a full review, including a climate compatibility assessment.
Hyslop will update MSPs on the review’s findings on Thursday.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell said: “There is no economic or environmental case for dualling every square inch of the A96, and the SNP must accept this and halt the project.
“If the dualling project goes ahead, it will be incompatible with our goals to reduce the number of cars on our road and cut climate emissions.”
He went on: “Some safety improvements and bypasses on the A96 are important, but the exorbitant sums set aside for fully dualling could be put to better use by investing in these safety improvements and better public transport, which could cut our emissions rapidly and give people choices other than travelling by car across Scotland.
“The climate assessment is long overdue, but we know that no review worth the paper it's printed on would recommend ploughing ahead with such a climate wrecking project."
READ MORE: SNP pass resolution 'reaffirming' commitment to dualling A9 and A96
However, Sue Webber, the Scottish Tories’ transport spokesperson, said: “SNP ministers should ignore these calls and refuse to bow to the demands of the extremist Greens.
“Rural communities depend on the A96 and are desperate for the road to be dualled as quickly as possible, as the SNP previously promised to do so. The rowing back on their previous commitments means lives are continuing to be put at risk on this road.
“SNP ministers should be doing everything possible to dual this critical road as a top priority.”
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said they were unable to comment fully due to Hyslop’s upcoming statement.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Transport will update Parliament today [November 28] on the A96 Corridor Review,” they said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel