Foreward

There can be little argument that transport is vital to the economic and social life of Argyll and Bute, given that every single resident depends on transport in some way to function within their daily lives.

The purpose of this Local Transport Strategy is to set out a way forward for Argyll and Bute having regard to the Council's overall objectives, its vision for our local communities and the ambitions of our partners.

We have taken a balanced approach to the development of this strategy. This is vital given the variety of conditions in which we live and the huge range of factors which affect our transport needs - we must support our economy and consider commercial needs - we need to preserve our rich natural environment which in turn provides many of our people with their living - and we should consider the needs of those in our society who perhaps need additional support. These are all vital factors in sustaining our communities.

In taking this balanced approach we have been consistent with the principles of the Scottish Executive's Transport Appraisal Guidance and have also carried out a Strategic Environmental Assessment.

Governments today value community input to formal planning. It is for this reason that we have developed the strategy with the close cooperation and participation of our Community Planning Partners. In doing so, clear principles and actions have been developed with general consensus across a wide range of interests.

It is now important that we grasp the opportunity presented by the publishing of this document - we must use it to achieve our goals - use it as the foundation on which to create the transport conditions we need to thrive in today's competitive world - in short, use it in our efforts to become Scotland's Leading Rural Area.