Decision details

The Council gave consideration to a report confirming that a preferred set of options contained in corridor 1 had been announced by the Cabinet Secretary and that 5 individual options within this corridor were currently out for consultation.  The report recommended that the Council agree at a political level to lobby the Scottish Government that other infrastructure is upgraded.

Decision

The Council –

1.    Acknowledged the Scottish Government’s commitment to progress a permanent solution within Corridor 1, Glen Croe at the Rest and Be Thankful, and reiterated the urgency and the vital importance of clear and non-negotiable timescales for driving development, design and delivery of the final decision without any further delay.

2.    Called for the delivery of the most resilient and sustainable, permanent solution within the lifetime of the next Scottish Parliament.

3.    Reaffirmed the imperative need in the meantime to maintain reliable connections to and from Argyll and Bute while the permanent solution is being progressed and, crucially, while the region’s economy builds back towards full recovery. To achieve this, asked the Scottish Government to provide, as a matter of urgency, a safe and resilient interim route that allows work on the permanent solution and travel into and out of Argyll and Bute to continue without impediment.

4.    Given the vital importance of resilience and continuity of connection, agreed to seek urgent clarification from the Scottish Government about the action it proposes to take now to ensure that Argyll and Bute’s links to and from the central belt are maintained and protected from the serious risks of prolonged disruption to both the A83 main route and the current Old Military Road alternative route.

5.    Local infrastructure plays a key role in supporting alternative and diversion routes when the A83 and/or the Old Military Road is affected by closure, ensuring that essential traffic like emergency services, delivery of supplies and transport of local produce to market can continue. While diversion routes are still required, this local infrastructure must remain available and sustainable.

The council therefore asked the Scottish Government to recognise the crucial contribution that local infrastructure makes to this overall situation by contributing to the cost of delivering improvements to support movement of traffic as well as mitigating against the considerable impact and pressure, as detailed in paragraph 3.5 of the report.

6.    Noted that Transport Scotland is currently running a consultation on five route options; further noted that Transport Scotland has agreed to provide a presentation on this for elected members; and agreed to delegate the final wording of the council’s response to the current consultation to the Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, the Policy Lead Councillor for Roads and Infrastructure, and the Leader of the largest Opposition Group, and to incorporate feedback from the presentation to all councillors.

7.    Noted the council’s previous request to the Scottish Government, in October 2020, for representation on any project board or similar, and agreed to seek an update in this respect.

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure dated March 2021, submitted)