A96 dualling consultation on whether to scrap pledge sees sharp drop in public engagement
Just 500 responses to the Scottish Government’s new consultation on scrapping full A96 dualling have been received.
The figure was revealed during a cross-party meeting of MSPs, hosted by transport secretary Fiona Hyslop with Transport Scotland officials who refused to give attendees any sort of timetable.
The SNP’s new proposal would see the 2011 pledge to dual the A96 abandoned, with just bypasses for Elgin and Keith included.
A consultation on the plans is set to end in less than two weeks.
As a result, engagement appears to have plummeted to just a ninth of that seen in the first consultation which attracted 4600 responses and generated “11,000 options” for what to do with the road.
Results from the first consultation showed that dualling the A96 in full remained the preference of the public.
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said dualling the road in full was still the Scottish Government’s plan, adding that a final decision would only take place after results from the latest consultation are considered.
North East Conservative MSP Liam Kerr, who was in the meeting, said the drop in response showed that communities were “sick and tired” of “false promises and endless consultations”.
“The response figure shows the public are sick and tired of the SNP’s false promises and endless consultations, wasting millions of taxpayers money in the process,” he added.
“They have lost all trust in this Scottish Government after being fed 14 years of excuses since the SNP’s promise to dual the A96 was first made.
“Throughout the meeting, my colleagues and I repeatedly demanded firm timetables and commitments on the dualling, but government ministers and officials refused to be drawn.
“Dualling this road can be the difference between life and death, and I encourage everyone to fill out this consultation to send a strong message to the Scottish Government.
“It’s vital we all state clearly, unequivocally and forcefully that the SNP need to get on with the job they promised by upgrading this killer road once and for all.”
Mr Kerr confirmed that the meeting was also attended by party colleagues Liam Kerr, Douglas Lumsden, Tim Eagle and Edward Mountain.
The Transport Scotland spokesperson added: “No decisions on the final outcome from this review will be determined until the Scottish Government hears from the public and considers their views from this 12-week consultation.
“People have until February 21, 2025 so there is still plenty of time to get involved and we would encourage anyone with an interest in the A96 to take the opportunity to play their part in the discussion.”
