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Badenoch and Strathspey give up looking for the sun





Badenoch and Strathspey’s experiment with solar-powered bus stop timetables is over.

It was at a meeting of the Highland Council in June 2013 that members agreed to an “initiative to achieve a low carbon Highlands by 2025”.

It was called Carbon Clever, with the ‘clever’ in capitals.

A photographer's joke once, but a prophetic one
A photographer's joke once, but a prophetic one

What was not so clever, according to passengers, was the installation of six solar powered real time bus stop displays, with £20,000 funding to get the environmental show on the road.

But the road tests over the ensuing years, from Aviemore to Grantown, Nethy Bridge to Carrbridge, were beset with problems and passengers were frequently left in the dark by the sun.

Earlier this week workmen were set to work removing the solar-powered timetables once and for all.

The Scottish Roadworks Register warned motorists that crews would be out with their angle grinder at Carrbridge car park access, at Nethy Bridge, in The Square in Grantown, on Deshar Road at Boat of Garten and two stops in Aviemore, namely Burnside Avenue and on Grampian Road.

A Highland Council spokesperson told the Strathy: “This upgrade is part of the ERDF Smarter Cities project in partnership with HITRANS.

“The current solar powered poles and displays in Badenoch and Strathspey are currently being replaced by new ones with a fixed power supply.”

At Nethy Bridge, the timetable service there has been decidedly sporadic.

Andy Young, who runs Nethy Bridge Stores, told the Strathy last mid-winter: “We get people wondering what’s happened to the stop just round the corner.

“Quite a few people rely on the information and have to look for printed information instead.”

The Scottish Cities Alliance has a fund of £60 million including £25 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) support.

The cashpot is being used to “make Scotland smarter, using new technologies to accelerate and transform the delivery of services”.

The Scottish Government has said the investment will help destinations to “become more attractive, liveable and resilient through data and digital technology”, improving the chosen areas for their citizens and making them more attractive to “potential investors who are increasingly looking at sustainability as a key draw”.

But requests for the latest information this week by the Strathy to Smart City organisers for more details on the local project drew a blank.

It is not known yet just when the working timetables will be installed.

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