Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Action group’s A96 dualling fears

Transport Scotland maintains that design work is far from finalised, and several route options are under consideration
Transport Scotland maintains that design work is far from finalised, and several route options are under consideration

Campaigners in a Moray town have ramped up their efforts to ensure plans to dual the A96 from Inverness to Aberdeen do not leave Moray’s economy in tatters.

The Forres A96 Dualling Action Group says some suggested routes for the project could cripple Moray’s income by bypassing its main towns.

Transport Scotland maintains that design work is far from finalised, and several route options are under consideration.

But members of the Moray initiative fear some proposals the body has researched could entirely avoid Forres and Elgin, and they say those early schemes have not been sufficiently broadcast to the communities they might impact.

With that in mind, campaigners will stage a coffee morning today at Rafford Village Hall, from 10am to noon, where they intend to highlight those possibilities.

Group chairman, Brian Higgs, said: “We know that no specific route has been decided, but people need to be aware of the risks some could pose.

“We have enlarged maps clearly outlining some of the plans under consideration. We really want people to think about the consequences if a route bypassing Elgin and Forres was to go ahead.

“Our biggest concern is a direct route that effectively bypasses Moray and is all about linking Aberdeen and Inverness.

“We just want to make sure these factors are carefully considered.”

In October, Transport Scotland published a contract worth up to £50million for a 29-mile stretch from just east of Auldearn to east of Fochabers.

The Forres A96 Dualling Action Group formed shortly thereafter, aiming to make sure the area’s interests were protected.

Last night, Transport Scotland stressed that consultation meetings would be held on every phase of the project.

A spokesman said: “Consultation on these projects takes place over a number of phases as they develop.

“We consulted widely on our initial plans in November 2013, and again last May and will continue to do so.

“We are currently procuring design consultants for the western section of the route covering around 29 miles from east of Auldearn to east of Fochabers.”

It is expected the contract for the work will be awarded within months, and assessments will be made on which route options to pursue.

The Scottish Government has given a commitment to complete the scheme by 2030.