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numbers add up for aberdeen bypass

Three local authorities, three Holyrood administrations, 20 years of planning and £90 million of public money. What is this radical proposal that has commanded so much time, investment, scrutiny and debate? A bypass around Scotland’s third largest city.

The ‘statutory orders’ for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route have gone before the Scottish Parliament for what should be the final hurdle for this long-overdue piece of national infrastructure.

There can be no doubt about the need for the AWPR, which Cabinet Secretary John Swinney last week labelled ‘an obvious gap’ in the country’s transport network. This was recognised as long ago as the 1940s in the North-east with planning started in earnest in 1990 by Grampian Regional Council, then by its successors Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils and finally by the Scottish Government, which picked up the mantle in 2003 following a 15,000-strong petition.

Three administrations, seven years and an expensive four-month Public Local Inquiry later, the 9,000 objections garnered by a local campaign group have been thoroughly and independently examined and a decision made to proceed.

But now for some more numbers – 40 days of Parliamentary scrutiny which started mid way through January, followed by six week’s opportunity for a legal challenge by objectors (the same objectors, raising the same issues which were heard at the £2.5 million inquiry).

What all this says about Scotland’s planning system is a separate debate, but what is clear is that there has been enough talk – it’s time for action.

Of course it is right and proper that alternatives are examined, the environment protected and people who are affected by the road fairly compensated. Three independent Reporters were satisfied with these issues, so let’s have no more diversions on this long and winding road during the Parliamentary process. Labour, Liberal Democrat and SNP Transport Ministers have all had their hand in this project over the years.

While the debate has been raging, businesses have been suffering due to the poor infrastructure that must be improved if we are to remain the energy capital of Europe and home to a third of Scotland’s top 100 companies - making the AWPR far from peripheral to the county’s national interests. ACSEF is working tirelessly with its public and private sector partners to secure the region’s future, but more than 1,000 businesses have told us that transport investment is their number one requirement for them to continue to operate in the region.

The AWPR has the potential to generate more than 14,000 jobs, £6 billion in additional income and reduce business costs by up to six per cent. These are numbers that add up to a prosperous future for Scotland.