Local MSP Brian Whittle has criticised the Scottish Government’s lacklustre response to a question about future improvements to the A77 and other transport infrastructure in south west Scotland.
In response to a question at the Scottish Parliament from Brian about future improvements, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop failed to promise further work, instead pointing to previous projects, including ones finished a decade ago and works to eliminate a landslide risk which didn’t deliver any real change to the road itself.
Scottish Conservative Brian has been campaigning for years for the Scottish Government to set out a detailed plan for how they’ll improve the A77 and rail links south of Ayr to make the most of connections to Northern Ireland via the ferry terminals at Cairnryan and make travel easier and safer for those living in Girvan and other towns in the south west. With the UK Government now pledging to support improvements to the neighbouring A75 trunk road, Brian argues that the Scottish Government have no excuse for not focussing their efforts on the A77 and railway.
Speaking after Fiona Hyslop’s response in the chamber, Brian Whittle MSP said:
“Ever since the SNP first entered office, they’ve promised communities across Ayrshire and Dumfries & Galloway that they’d see improvements to the A77 and other roads, and they just haven’t delivered.
Bypassing Maybole, decades after it was first promised and without even bothering to fully dual the new road, doesn’t come close to the investment that’s needed here.
The SNP are resting on their laurels and expecting the public to be satisfied by one by-pass and some other relatively minor projects when anyone who uses the A77 south of Ayr knows that far bigger works are required.
With rail services likely to be disrupted for some time thanks to the mess at the Ayr Station Hotel, even more drivers are going to be using the A77 and I hope they’ll join me in pressuring the Scottish Government to make transport infrastructure in the south west fit for the future.”
