A group of monks are pleading with transport chiefs to scrap a proposed A96 dualling route they claim would shatter the tranquility of their Moray home.
The Benedictine community at Pluscarden Abbey has been left stunned that two of the short-listed options for the new road between Forres and Fochabers would cut through their peaceful valley.
Brother Michael de Klerk said the plans would have a “catastrophic effect” on their way of life.
A Transport Scotland environmental assessment report of the area recognises that Pluscarden’s location is a “key constraint” for the road scheme.
However, the report adds that the area could “absorb the inclusion of a dualled route without a significant effect on its quality and character”.
A series of exhibitions on the A96 dualling plan has already toured Moray and residents have been encouraged to give feedback.
Brother Michael said: “Of all the special qualities of the abbey, it is the sense of peace which is by far the most remarked upon.
“It is hard to imagine how a busy thoroughfare, bearing noisy traffic day and night, could fail to have a serious impact on such a sensitive setting.
“Wherever it is sited, it would form a substantial barrier, requiring either a bridge or an underpass for anything to reach the other side.
“This is a fearful prospect for anybody who values freedom to roam in the valley, which is undoubtedly one of the attractions for anybody who lives or visits here.”
Transport Scotland would not comment on the monks’ plea, but its environmental report states: “Although Pluscarden Abbey itself is outwith the segment, its setting and surrounding land form Pluscarden AGLV (area of great landscape value) which is located to the west of the segment and extends to the south and west.
“The character of the area is generally of open fields with some wooded areas, which can absorb the inclusion of a dualled route without a significant effect on its quality
and character, however where there is a more undulating landscape, a sensitive design approach will be required.”
The monks have made their case for the removal of Pluscarden from the A96 conversation via a letter to Transport Scotland.
Brother Michael added: “We hope that our objections do not in any way discourage Transport Scotland from carrying out what seems overall to be an excellent project.
“Our aim is only to share our local knowledge, in order that they might reach a more informed decision in this particular case.”
Transport Scotland has committed to delivering a dualled A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030.
The contract for the first £30million phase of the programme, at Nairn, has already been awarded.
Pluscarden Abbey was originally founded in 1230.
It fell to ruin but was refounded in 1948, using the original medieval buildings.
As the only current Benedictine monastery in Scotland, it is home to 20 monks, attracts an estimated 10,000 visitors every year and has two guest houses which accommodate between 1,400-1,800 people annually.