North politicians are being warned of a looming "winter of discontent" in Caithness unless action is taken urgently to fix the county's crumbling roads.

Campaign group Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR) says the impact is being felt on public safety and wellbeing, and that tourism and inward investment will also suffer – potentially contributing to depopulation and a 21st-century Highland Clearances.

Co-founder Iain Gregory also believes it is ironic that with the COP26 climate change conference about to start, giving Scotland a chance to show off its "green credentials", active travel in the far north is being badly restricted by dangerous potholes and other damage to the road network.

Mr Gregory has written to local MP Jamie Stone, local MSP Maree Todd and all Highlands and Islands regional MSPs setting out the need for substantial emergency funding to repair and rebuild local roads. The letter points out that CRR, which was launched earlier this year, has attracted considerable public support and maintains "there is an ever-growing demand for action".

Mr Gregory said: "It is ironic that while the attention of the world is focused on COP26 in Glasgow, when we will showcase our 'green credentials' across the globe, the people of Caithness are expected to endure Third World conditions."

Political statements about active travel "are no longer even amusing", he said, given the "atmosphere of neglect and decay" over the state of the roads.

He highlighted the "detrimental effect on public safety, on wellbeing and on mental health" and pointed out: "There will undoubtedly be an effect on tourism and inward investment.

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"We are already looking at a depopulation scenario – we cannot continue on this downward spiral or we are going to have the 21st-century equivalent of the Highland Clearances."

Mr Gregory has issued an open invitation to MSPs of all parties to invite him to Holyrood, where he will be "more than prepared to make the case for Caithness to the parliament".

The full letter from Caithness Roads Recovery to Jamie Stone, Maree Todd and all seven regional MSPs for the Highlands and Islands:

ROAD SITUATION IN CAITHNESS

"As you are aware, Caithness Roads Recovery has been campaigning since February of this year, and our remit has been, from the beginning, to highlight the appalling state of the roads network in Caithness, and to seek a commitment for substantial funding to be made urgently available to rectify this. We have stressed from day one that we are apolitical, and we have focused solely on the need to protect 'Lives, Livelihoods and Lifelines'. This remains our position.

"During the past eight months we have put in thousands of hours of work, we have posted hundreds of pictures and videos on our social media page, we have written the equivalent of several novels (none of them fiction), we have had extensive print media exposure, particularly in the John O'Groat Journal, we have appeared on TV, we have been interviewed on local and national radio, we have spoken to numerous community groups, MPs, MSPs and councillors, and we have written (on a number of occasions) to the Prime Minister, the First Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Scotland and to every agency and individual whom we considered might be able to assist. We currently have an outstanding complaint lodged with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, in which we have stated our view that 'the Highland Council has failed to maintain public roads in Caithness in accordance with Section 1 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984'. Our following, and level of public support, is now very considerable indeed, and it is fair to say that there is an ever-growing demand for action.

"Yes, we have had some success. The situation is now widely known, and Caithness is firmly on the map. There has been some additional investment from the Highland Council, which is of course welcome, but the overall position remains disastrous. 'Doubling' a woefully inadequate budget does not even come close to meeting the sums needed.

"From the outset, we have been told by the Highland Council that they simply 'do not have the money'; we have been told by the Scottish Government that 'it is "100 per cent the responsibility of the Highland Council', and the UK government indicates that 'this is a devolved issue and a matter for the Scottish Government'. This simply will not do. We understand (based on the council's own figures) that some £200 million is required to put matters right across the Highlands. This would suggest that about £20 million is needed for Caithness, which is, and must remain, our focus. If this is the case, we find it difficult to understand why urgent action has not been taken. In the national scheme of things, this is not a vast sum of money.

"It is ironic, as we approach the start of COP26 when we will be showcasing our 'green credentials' to the world, that the conditions which citizens in the far north are expected to endure are now so bad that despite our county being littered with wind farms, the very idea of 'active travel' is no longer even vaguely amusing. The effects upon public safety, on wellbeing and on mental health are clearly serious, and there will undoubtedly be an effect on tourism and inward investment. We are already looking at a depopulation scenario – we cannot continue on this downward spiral or we are going to have the 21st-century equivalent of the Highland Clearances all over again.

"It seems unfortunate that private citizens have to drive forward campaigns like CRR to ensure that focus is centred on matters of such great public concern. The evidence is overwhelming – our roads network is collapsing, Caithness is looking neglected and abandoned, and we would have hoped that, by now, our elected representatives on the council would have made a joint statement acknowledging this dire situation, and demanded action, putting any political differences aside.

"We agree that some repairs have indeed been carried out, but when we have virtually an entire county requiring major overhaul, it is little more than applying a sticking plaster to a gaping wound. As far as we can see the monies allocated over the next few years are not even sufficient to maintain the status quo. With the probability of a further funding cut to the council budget, inflation rising towards five per cent, the projected cost of some planned investments rising vastly, and the certainty of high wage rises in the next round of pay settlements, we predict utter and total disaster. And not just in respect of the general infrastructure – lives, sooner or later, will be lost.

"We ask you – on behalf of the people of Caithness – to act, to act now, and to act decisively. And to conclude, please think of this. If the council were to turn round and say 'Sorry, but we cannot afford the education budget, so we are going to close half a dozen schools,' would the Scottish Government intervene? I think the answer is 'yes'. We submit that the situation as regards our roads is similarly disastrous.

"Winter is coming. Sooner or later some of our roads will simply become impassable – a lot of them are effectively impassable already for cyclists. The safety of our citizens is essential, and this is a fundamental function – and duty – of government. We need action and we need it now, as we approach the inevitable start of a 'winter of discontent'.

"CRR has offered in the past – more than once – to go to Holyrood. I repeat that offer now. I would, with pleasure, speak to members of the parliament and present our case face to face.

"Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. Please act."

Iain Gregory

For Caithness Roads Recovery

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