The Cross Tay Link Road will go ahead as planned – despite fears the SNP-Greens deal would leave the project ‘consigned to the dustbin’.
Project bosses are understood to have already appointed a main contractor with an announcement expected shortly.
Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle gave us assurance that the £118 million scheme remained “on target.”
His comments come after fellow Conservative, Murdo Fraser MSP, told colleagues in the Scottish Parliament he feared the project’s future was “at risk” due to the cooperation agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens.
‘Coalition of chaos’
Mr Fraser described the deal as a “coalition of chaos”.
But Mr Lyle said: “I’m not anticipating anything getting in the way because of the Green deal. It’s already been signed through government.
“It was approved for funding through the Tay Cities Deal. The economic benefits of the Cross Tay Link Road outweighed pretty much all the other projects put together.
“Also, the air quality improvements that it will bring to Perth city centre, I would have thought would have been a priority for the Greens, and everybody else.
“We’re well down the road and on target with the project.”
Green deal pulls the plug on new roads projects
The agreement between the Greens and the SNP states there will be a “shift away from spending money on new road projects that encourage more people to drive”.
Projects already under construction, design, development or procurement will continue.
But this was not enough to convince Mr Fraser that the CTLR was safe from the axe.
“The Greens claim they have secured a shift away from road building, but there are now a host of local road projects which could be at risk thanks to them being in government,” he said.
“One such example is the Cross Tay Link Road, which is essential not just to unlock the economic potential of east Perthshire, but is vital to reduce congestion and air pollution – which are already at dangerous levels in Perth city centre.
“This is a project which depends upon financial assistance from the Scottish Government, and it is also a project we know the Greens are actively hostile towards.
“Ten years of planning have gone into the project. But they could all be consigned to the dustbin if the Greens have their way.”
The CTLR will include a bridge over the Tay north of Perth and will cut through swathes of countryside.
Is CTLR ‘too close to completion for a rethink’?
Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Mark Ruskell still opposes the project.
But he indicated that it would be difficult to prevent the work from going ahead at this late stage.
“The co-operation agreement changes the goalposts for approving new projects but we recognise for some, like the A9 dualling project, they are too close to completion for a rethink.”
Mr Ruskell said the Conservative-led Perth and Kinross Council failed to consider the concerns of communities including Scone.
Scone residents say the route is too close to the Scone North development. They have raised concerns about air and noise pollution.
He added that in approving the route, elected councillors had “badly let down” residents.
The Scottish Government maintains its position that the project would “enable Perth and Kinross Council to deliver their vision for future development around Perth and promote the city as a sustainable place to live, work and study.”