The highly anticipated Cross Tay Link Road will not receive Tay Cities Deal funding, it has emerged.
The £113 million scheme, part of Perth and Kinross Council’s biggest ever infrastructure project, was earlier this year described as a “top priority” for a share of the cash.
The much-needed crossing, which was the subject of a public consultation this summer, will connect the A93 and A94 north of Scone with the A9 between Inveralmond and Luncarty.
Council leader Murray Lyle confirmed the scheme had been taken off the table during prolonged Tay Cities Deal negotiations.
He said he hoped it would be included in an upcoming review of transport and infrastructure projects in Tayside.
Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife Mark Ruskell said the move had thrown a cloud of uncertainty over the scheme.
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“The lack of funding for the Cross Tay Link Road leaves significant questions over the future of this project,” he said.
He warned scores of new homes planned for Scone could lead to “illegal levels of air pollution” in the village.
“Perth and Kinross Council would need to seriously reconsider their plans,” he added.
Elsewhere, the region will receive £10 million of Tay Cities Deal cash for a £30 million cultural revamp, including the transformation of Perth City Hall.
The venue will become a major arts venue, expected to attract hundreds of thousands of new visitors to the area.
A further £15 million will be ploughed into a new bus and train interchange for Perth. Details for the hub have yet to be released, but it is expected to replace the city’s ageing bus station, which was once compared by a councillor to an eastern European housing block from the 1950s.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre will get £10 million for a planned venue revamp.
Executive director Kris Bryce said: “We are pleased to have received this strong signal of support from the Scottish Government. It is a brilliant start.
“This offers a platform for the theatre to increase our already substantial efforts to attract future funding from a number of other sources. We look forward to further discussions about accessing the regional culture and tourism investment programme within the Tay Cities Deal.”
A further £5 million of UK Government money will go towards the sprawling Perth West development, which will see more than 3,000 houses built – along with an eco-innovation park – on land located off the A9.
Perth College will benefit from £8.1 of UK Government funding for a Tayside-wide Aviation Academy.
And around £4 million is proposed to develop a “world class digital infrastructure”, offering super-fast 5G connections across the area.
