Parliament bid to deal with 'catastrophic' roads in Caithness
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A BID is being made to get cross-party support in the Scottish Parliament to deal with the "catastrophic " state of roads in Caithness and north-west Sutherland.
Edward Mountain, the Conservative regional MSP for the Highlands and Islands, is behind the move and wants to make improving the roads his top priority. He says they are "in dire need of repair" and are a "a danger to road users and their vehicles".
His efforts have the support of Caithness Roads Recovery, which has been campaigning for national funding to tackle the roads crisis and claims unless "urgent action is taken lives will be lost".
Mr Mountain hopes to secure cross-party support for a debate on improving the state of local roads in Caithness and Sutherland.
The motion was lodged in his first week back at Holyrood and comes after meeting Caithness Roads Recovery and councillor Struan Mackie during the Scottish election campaign.
Mr Mountain said: "Our local roads are in dire need of repair. It’s no exaggeration to describe these potholes as a danger to road users and their vehicles.
"I welcome the efforts of Caithness Roads Recovery who continue to raise awareness of this issue and I was delighted to meet with its members during the election campaign.
"Following my return to Holyrood I am determined to ensure the poor state of our local roads is finally addressed. I have therefore lodged a motion for members’ debate to build cross-party support and make the case that urgent action is now needed from the Scottish Government.
"During the election the Scottish Conservatives called for the creation of a £200 million national fund to help local authorities fix roads. If the Scottish Government were willing to pursue this idea then that would be a massive step in the right direction for the far north."
The motion states: "That the Parliament congratulates the group, Caithness Roads Recovery, on its continued campaigning to improve the roads in Caithness and North-West Sutherland, believes that the group has been very successful in highlighting what its members see as the urgent action that is required due to potholes and road repairs in general and acknowledges that the aim of the group is to achieve a resolution to the reported poor state of the roads throughout the area, which is having an impact on the daily lives, livelihoods and lifelines of the people."
Helen Campbell and Iain Gregory from Caithness Roads Recovery said: "We are delighted to hear that rectifying the catastrophic situation in Caithness is being taken forward as the top priority by Edward Mountain, and we thank him for congratulating Caithness Roads Recovery on our efforts to date.
"There is no doubt that this is the major issue in the far north, and we believe that unless urgent action is taken, lives will be lost. Cross-party support is vital to ensure that real progress can be made, and that emergency funding can be made available to the Highland Council without delay."
The campaign group say Caithness residents are enduring a "nightmare" because of the state of local roads with some even finding just the thought of driving too stressful. It wants major investment in roads which have been badly affected by potholes and other damage.
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