MAREE TODD: The difficulties in solving roads issues in Caithness
Holyrood Notebook by Maree Todd
It’s been a worry this month to hear of folk in Caithness injuring themselves or damaging their vehicles on local roads. I travel in and around Caithness regularly and I am under no illusions about the rate and extent of deterioration of our road network.
In providing context to the debate on roads funding, it’s right that we acknowledge the challenges of the last three years.
Covid-19 severely hindered our local roads team's ability to safely carry out road repairs during the height of the pandemic. Then, as we came out of this difficult period, many councils were hit with procurement challenges due to supply issues caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
We must also recognise the current economic pressures which have led to significant budgetary constraints for governments at every level. With inflation running high, the cost of delivering road repair programmes has risen substantially.
The Scottish Government is to increase local government funding by £570 million to help councils withstand the challenges attributed to inflation, but I am not naive as to the difficulties that local authorities will still face despite additional funding.
Finally, I know the Conservatives would rather erase Brexit from the public’s memory, but the reality is that the loss of EU funding has gravely impacted local authority budgets. That’s not a political point, it’s a statement of fact.
In the past, we have seen road improvement projects take place in the Highlands because of funding allocated through the European Regional Development Fund and its "locally significant" road scheme.
Looking further at the figures, under previous EU funding, the Highlands received £28.3 million to support economic development in the area. Under UK government replacement schemes, the Highlands will only receive £9.4 million – a shortfall of £18.9 million.
Highland Council recently submitted a bid to the levelling-up fund to make improvements to the North Coast 500 route, along with other local infrastructure improvement projects, but funding was not granted.
I am aware that this offers little comfort to folk in the far north who understandably just want a safe and reliable road network. I want to see this too. Recent planned maintenance for Caithness published by Highland Council shows that many road surfaces will be looked at, though I recognise that not all problem areas will be sufficiently addressed.
As we look at solutions, I am interested by the proposed tourist tax which would work to provide additional revenue for Highland Council, enabling improved maintenance of local roads. Given the increased traffic on our Highland network due to the popularity of the NC500 route, it’s important that we consider how we best sustain tourism while ensuring this is not to the detriment of our local communities.
I know that the transport minister’s announcement last week on delays to the A9 dualling programme will have been met with disappointment from my constituents in Caithness and residents throughout the Highlands. The delay is owed to ministers concluding that the tender for the Tomatin to Moy section did not represent best value for the taxpayer.
While this announcement is regrettable, I am reassured by the Scottish Government’s commitment to improving road safety on the route in the immediate term with an investment of £5 million. I was also encouraged to hear the transport minister acknowledge the challenges on the road north of Inverness. With increased road traffic accidents, some resulting in devastating fatalities, enhancements are needed beyond Inverness too.
I have written to the transport minister to request further detail on her discussions with BEAR Scotland and Transport Scotland concerning road safety improvements on the A9 in my constituency.
- Maree Todd is the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross.