A96 dualling – Douglas Ross demands SNP publicly commit to project next week
Douglas Ross says the SNP’s statement on the A96 a week on Thursday must commit to fully dualling the road as quickly as possible.
The Highlands and Islands MSP claims that anything less would represent a “betrayal” of communities across Moray, the Highlands and Aberdeenshire.
Mr Ross said: “The SNP should not have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into giving this statement.
“The A96 is so crucial for Moray and the North East, but ministers have continued to kick this review into the long grass.
“Those delays have been shameful and shows that dualling the A96 is simply not a priority for this central-belt obsessed SNP Government, who have rowed back on their previous pledge to fully dual the road.”
Plans to fully dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness by 2030 were originally announced in December 2011.
However, as part of the power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Greens, a review of the project costing almost £4 million was undertaken due to “urgent” environmental concerns about its impact.
Mr Ross labelled the review “a sop” to the Greens, adding that its findings were originally due to made in December 2022.
He said: “Constituents in Moray and the Highlands have waited long enough for SNP Ministers to finally publish the review.
“It must be made public alongside this statement to allow MSPs and local communities to properly scrutinise not only the review, but also the SNP Government’s response to it.
“Anything less than a commitment to fully dual the road being confirmed in the review would represent a shocking betrayal of the region.”
A statement is due to be made on Thursday, November 28.
