Time to deliver on A9 dualling promises
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I AM very pleased that the SNP Government has approved, for the first time ever, a timetable for completing the dualling of the A9.
Of course, this project will take years to fulfil, and many more than many of us hoped. But, the money available to us, from our budget, has been slashed by the London Government – so to be able to make this pledge at all, was not easy.
The completion of the A9 by 2025 is a promise now made by the SNP Government. This means that, at long last, there is a clear pledge that the work will and must be done, and that by a specific date.
Anyone involved in long term roads and rail projects is aware that the timescale is necessarily long.
The process of initial design work and consultation with those involved; obtaining consents; the necessary environmental assessments; the route decisions; the consultation; the public inquiries about disputes; the negotiations with land owners; the sorting out of access issues of the existing A9; the requirement for tunnels bridges; the re-consultation: all of these things have to take place.
Sometimes we may well feel that they take too long, or that some of the requirements, for example, for environmental assessment verge upon the ridiculous.
Certainly, many constituents have expressed these views to me, and on many occasions.
But, the pledge has been made and therefore we can and must now focus on the delivery – and the work needed to deal with all of these matters.
Unfortunately, our opponents have not welcomed this commitment – and I suppose that is opposition politics for you.
However, I do think that attacks from the Lib Dems are little short of naked effrontery.
After-all – when did they make such a commitment?
And, they did of course try to commit even more money to Central Belt schemes such as the Edinburgh and Glasgow airport rail links – both of them in my view projects which did not offer value for money.
I played a part in stopping these schemes, especially the EARL which would in my view have been a total disaster – which would have made the Edinburgh trams scheme look like a precision operation!
In any event – no doubt the carping will continue in the New Year.
However, those of us who have the responsibility of government will be focussing on the real task in hand – delivery.
• Celebrating Christmas, for us, involved attending a nursery Christmas café in which our three year-old daughter made her public singing debut. Fiona and I heard her and her nursery classmates sing their songs which, as Natasha said included “Little |Donkey, Jingle Bells, Twinkle twinkle, Baby Jesus and anovver one…….”.
The parents joined in the singing and also the dancing – including yours truly. As the wee one pointed out, however, “Mummy a good dancer – daddy not a good dancer.”
And, you know, she is dead right!
May I and my staff Norman, Rosie and Becca wish all the Strathy readers a Merry Christmas and great new year.
