Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - A9
1. Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Government what effect improvements on the A9 will have on communities through which it runs. (S3O-1127)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson): Our current programme of improvements on the A9 will improve access to communities served by the A9, improve safety, reduce accidents and save lives.
A study of the A9 from Stirling to Perth has been undertaken to identify where future improvements would be beneficial. The study has identified where grade-separated junctions would be best sited on the A9 from the Keir roundabout at Dunblane to the Broxden roundabout at Perth to improve safety.
The study will feed into the strategic transport projects review, which will consider the proposals in the corridor study to improve safety, including the provision of grade-separated junctions, along with proposals on improving journey times.
Roseanna Cunningham: I know that the improvements that the minister has talked about in respect of the whole of the A9 will be widely welcomed. I am grateful for his acknowledgement that dual carriageways have their own safety issues, particularly at junctions with local access roads where the junctions are not grade separated. He has rightly anticipated my concern about the number of accidents that occur on the A9 around the Auchterarder, Blackford and Aberuthven area, where we have a number of such junctions. What is the likely timescale for the potential improvements that he has indicated might be on the cards? The situation in the area is becoming difficult, particularly given that there is a railway station there too.
Stewart Stevenson: The member will know that I share her concerns, and those of members throughout the chamber, about road safety. Transport Scotland has agreed in principle to a developer contribution for the improvement of the Loaninghead junction at Auchterarder. The timing of the scheme is linked to development proposals, but we know that the developer is anxious to proceed.
At Blackford, a number of minor improvements have been made in the past couple of years. A video study has identified how the junction operates and further improvements are expected to be undertaken during this financial year.
David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): What timescale does the minister envisage for dualling the whole of the A9 north of Perth? He will be aware from my written questions that the Scottish Government does not own even a fraction of the land necessary to dual the A9. Is that another Scottish National Party broken promise?
Stewart Stevenson: I always feel uneasy when Labour members use that sort of language, given Labour's long track record of broken promises. The member should be absolutely assured of our commitment to ensuring that the A9 is dualled. That is why we are planning for the dualling of the A9 and doing intensive studies to identify the next part of the A9 to dual.
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): Although I completely understand why Roseanna Cunningham asked the question that she asked, I remind the minister that the A9 extends much further north than Inverness—it extends right up to Caithness. What about the Berriedale braes and the Navidale bends? Will the investment in the southern part of the A9-welcome though it is to Roseanna Cunningham—mean that the much-needed improvements in my constituency are going to be kicked into the long grass for a long time?
Stewart Stevenson: It is slightly ungracious of Gentleman Jamie to express things in those terms. He will of course know that I was up in his constituency to initiate a project in Helmsdale relatively recently. Of course the A9 all the way to the very north of Scotland is an important part of the road infrastructure that receives my close attention.
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): The minister has been telling us for some time, and has repeated today, that the SNP Government's commitment is to plan for the dualling of the A9, yet we read in today's press that transport improvements are likely to be the victims of a tight budget round. Will he give us a commitment today that by 2011 we will see real progress in dualling the A9, or is his commitment to plan for dualling simply an empty slogan?
Stewart Stevenson: I give an absolute commitment not to believe everything I read in the press. There will be real improvements on the A9 in the timescale.
Dave Thompson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): A recent report in The Press and Journal highlighted research that showed that upgrading the A9 to a dual carriageway would boost the Highland economy by around £1 billion over 30 years and would create 4,500 jobs. Based on those figures, the Highlands could have missed out on a boost to its economy worth £333 million during the past 10 years of Lib-Lab Executive mismanagement, as well as on the opportunity for much-needed employment. Will the minister do all that he can to redress that lack of action and to put the Highland economy back on track?
Stewart Stevenson: The P and J, that ever-reliable publication, quoted directly from the source in question—the report by the Highlands and Islands transport partnership and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The report is a useful contribution to the debate on the value to the Highland economy of the A9 as a dual carriageway. I note that the area of Scotland where the greatest growth may be being experienced is Inverness, and the Highland economy is absolutely vital to sustainable economic development in the north. That is why we are looking at the figures, planning for the dualling of the A9 and making real progress on the A9, and members on other parties' benches should listen carefully.
