A96 dualling and Nairn Bypass delay among reasons that could see Fergus Ewing MSP leave SNP and run as independent at next Holyrood election

Delays and broken promises over the delivery of the Nairn Bypass and A96 dualling are one of the main reasons for which veteran MSP Fergus Ewing may leave the SNP.

Mr Ewing, MSP for Inverness and Nairn, announced last week he will not stand for the party at next year’s Holyrood elections, saying he “could not defend the record” of the government.

He has not confirmed yet whether he plans to step down entirely from parliament or will stand for election as an independent candidate instead.

“The A96 dualling, and in particular the Nairn Bypass, must take the accolade of being the biggest failure of all,” he said.

“I believe that the delays that we've seen - and we still see - have not been accidental. They've just decided that they did not wish to come forward with a plan, because then of course they would be committed to that plan.”

Last week, Transport Scotland announced the final stage of the process to acquire the land required for dualling had been completed, but Mr Ewing insisted that was essentially insignificant.

“That’s no use, it has to be done anyway in any road project,” he said.

“But what there isn't, and what there must be, is a plan which sets out when the Nairn bypass will be constructed, how long the process will take, what type of funding will be used, and what type of procurement.

“I've had the chance to speak to lots of people in the industry, and they tell me that it can be done, and that the way that Transport Scotland could actually result in more delays,” he added.

“There's been no end of talk, there's been four ministers, and all that’s been achieved are the Made Orders and the compulsory purchase,” he said. “But we still don't know how the A96 dualling and the Nairn bypass is going to be funded, whether it's private funding or whether we use the capital funding. And we still don't know whether it's going to be procured in the current way, or using a framework contract.

“I think it's perfectly reasonable for me to say to them that this is work that should have been done before now. But if it's not done by next March, then I will seriously consider standing (for election) as an independent.”

In January, Transport Scotland said the development of a timeline for the dualling works and a business case will take at least a year from the date of the end of the land purchase process, saying it will “closely align” with the Mutual Investment Model (MIM) assessment work being undertaken on the A9.

A spokesperson stated the decision on the use of MIM for the A96 Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) “would need to follow after, or be considered alongside, the A9 decision” - which is currently expected at the end of this year.

Mr Ewing said that, although it won’t solve all the problems in the area, building a bypass will address many of the challenges that commuters in Nairnshire have to face.

“It's not just about the road, it's about people, it's about pollution, it's about health and safety,” he said.

“What really matters to me is thinking about the ordinary daily life in Nairn, where kids at the school have this busy road of traffic going through the heart of Nairn and they have to put up with that.

“I think of all the promises made, and that makes me so angry. I'm sorry that my party has failed the people of Nairn in that way.”

The Inverness Courier is running a petition to call for a timeline for the Nairn Bypass and dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn to be published by Easter.

This will be brought by Holyrood’s petitions committee to transport secretary Fiona Hyslop on April 2.

You can sign the petition on the Scottish Parliament’s website looking for petition PE2132

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