Forestry road funding package does not include Caithness

CAITHNESS has not been included in a £980,000 scheme to help improve the timber transport network in the Highlands.

The money has been awarded to Highland Council by the Scottish Government and is co-financed by the Strategic Timber Transport Fund which is managed by Scottish Forestry. The funding goes mostly to upgrade minor roads – improving surfaces, widening corners, adding traffic calming measures or providing passing places.

But local activist and former Thurso community councillor, Alexander Glasgow, is unhappy that no money has been made available to help Caithness roads which are used by timber lorries.

He wrote to the Scottish Government after finding out about the scheme and wanted to know if the far north would benefit from the fund to repair damage from logging trucks. Mr Glasgow is concerned that heavy lorries for forestry are having an adverse impact on roads in the county. He was told three roads have been identified in the Highlands but none of them are in Caithness.

He said: "My primary concern is the damage to roads in Thurso and elsewhere in Caithness from juggernauts. I have no doubt the roads benefitting are in a poor state but so are minor roads in Caithness."

In response, Jason Hubert, who is responsible for the management of the Strategic Timber Transport Fund and is the head of business development at Scottish Forestry, said it was agreed to co-fund three road projects with the Highland Council.

They are: the B8004 Banavie to Gairlochy; B9090 Clephanton and A839 Braemore to Benmore (Glen Oykel) roads.

Mr Hubert added: "In addition, we also support a regional timber transport officer with the Highland Council who runs the regional timber transport group. This group which consists of private sector forestry companies and the council helps to develop projects and deal with local timber transport issues as they arise.

"There are two private sector projects we are supporting in the Highland Council area, however,

both are planning to move timber by sea rather than on the public road network."

Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Tourism said the measures announced by the government will help keep the flow of timber moving to market and reduce impacts on local communities.

He said: "Forestry is an important part of the rural sector, generating £1 billion to the Scottish economy each year and supporting 25,000 jobs."

Commenting on the funding package, Stuart Goodall, the chief executive of the Confederation of Forest Industries said: "This is a fantastic boost for Scotland’s forestry sector as we seek to recover from the harsh impacts of Covid-19.

"This welcome and very significant investment not only provides vital support to help the sector continue to grow, it also provides a real confidence boost at a difficult time."

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.