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The Inverness Courier launches petition calling for timeline on A96 dualling and Nairn bypass project





SIGN OUR PETITION HERE

The Inverness Courier is launching a petition calling for the Scottish Government to provide a timeline for the development of a bypass for Nairn and the dualling of the A96 between Inverness and Auldearn.

Traffic on the A96 road going through Nairn. Picture: James Mackenzie
Traffic on the A96 road going through Nairn. Picture: James Mackenzie

For decades, people in Nairn and surroundings have been calling for a bypass taking the traffic from the A96 trunk road out of its town centre. At present there is no timeline for when the project is set to be delivered.

After more than a decade of delays, local communities continue to face worsening traffic congestion, pollution, and road safety risks.

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This is why we are launching our petition today (November 11) calling for the publication of a timeline for works before the end of this year.

Fergus Ewing, MSP, Inverness and Nairn. Picture: James Mackenzie
Fergus Ewing, MSP, Inverness and Nairn. Picture: James Mackenzie

Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing commented: “The petition calling for the Nairn bypass is key to the success of the aim of the campaign finally to get a plan and straight-talking from the Scottish Government after 14 years of dither and delay.

“It is a way also to show the strength and breadth of opinion in Nairn and indeed Nairnshire, but also for the link to Inverness to be dualled as well - something that has been promised for so long.

“I congratulate warmly the Courier on taking this initiative. It may just force the hand of the government, whom I am afraid still seem utterly intent on spinning this out for another year and a half until the next Holyrood election.”

The petition, launched one year after we started our Build The Bypass campaign, comes after the organisation of a Build The Bypass public event in Nairn last May, with Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop in attendance.

Show of hands. Picture: Callum Mackay.
Show of hands. Picture: Callum Mackay.

Here, she heard from Nairnshire residents and representatives about the impact the delay is having on people’s daily livelihoods.

Alastair Noble, chair of Nairn Improvement Community Enterprise (NICE) Nairn agreed, saying: “We need to keep campaigning - Nairn desperately needs a bypass.

“The consultation process for our local place plan over the past months showed that a bypass is a key priority for people in Nairnshire.

Dr Alastair Noble, Local Place Plan Steering Group Spokesperson. Picture: Callum Mackay.
Dr Alastair Noble, Local Place Plan Steering Group Spokesperson. Picture: Callum Mackay.

“I welcome a petition and as much pressure put on the Scottish Government as possible.”

Tracy Cameron, co-chair at Nairn BID, said: “The team at Nairn BID has been following the progress of the Build the Bypass Campaign and we are delighted to support the petition. Nairn and the surrounding villages need to know what is happening and when.

Tracy Cameron, Co-Chair for Nairn Connects BID. Picture: James Mackenzie
Tracy Cameron, Co-Chair for Nairn Connects BID. Picture: James Mackenzie

“I had the pleasure of sitting on the panel of the Build The Bypass event the Inverness Courier held in May and was able to represent the varied views of our members.

“The passion in the room that night and the stories from many local residents go back decades. There have been years of broken promises and it’s time the government stepped up to right this wrong. Nairn has grown massively over the years, but the infrastructure to deal with that has not. There is an accident waiting to happen.

“I also live in Auldearn and see the impact that the unofficial bypass through the village has on the residents and the primary school children walking to and from school on the narrow pavements. Something should have been done by now.

“Nairn BID has put its own pressure on the government when, in 2021, it invited the then Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth, to Nairn to see for herself the situation with the A96 cutting right through our town. We took her to Rosebank Primary School and we arranged for her to meet with different representatives from our community so they could have their say on the matter. Three years on from that, we are no further forward and have no clear answers.”

When asked on when a timeline for the project would be available, a Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is committed to delivering the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme and the publication of the Made Orders for the scheme in March was a strong sign of our commitment to build this key project.

“We have confirmed through the Programme for Government, which is specifically a Programme for the next year until next September, that we will commence the final stage of the process for acquisition of land required for the scheme, and progress work to determine the most suitable procurement option – thereafter a timetable for progress can then be set in line with available budgets.”

You can sign our petition here


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