Campaigners have reacted with fury at Nicola Sturgeon’s “lame excuses” for failing to deliver on A9 dualling by 2025 and said she should have been “far more open” with Highlanders earlier.
The former first minister apologised for the Scottish Government’s failure to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025 at Holyrood on Wednesday.
She told the inquiry probing the decade-long delay to the project that she was not apologising because the Scottish Government has “messed up”.
But because the £3 billion project had faced significant challenges beyond their control, including from Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
She said: “I want to be clear that I do not accept that the failure to meet that target was because we just didn’t bother and we weren’t trying to meet that target.”
‘Very lame excuses’
But Laura Hansler from the A9 Dual Action Group, who attended the evidence session at Holyrood, hit out at the “soft apology” and “lame excuses” from Ms Sturgeon.
She said: “When somebody in their opening statement automatically goes to blame Brexit, Covid, the cost of living crisis and Ukraine…you just take pause at that moment and just think this is really quite disappointing.
“It’s very lame excuses that we’ve heard before. For me, the only positive that came out of that entire meeting was the fact she would support a national memorial to those that have lost their lives up here.”
Ms Sturgeon was deputy first minister in 2011 when the Scottish Government committed to fully upgrading the road, which runs between Perth and Inverness, to dual-carriageway by 2025.
‘Significant hurdles’
In December 2023, the Government admitted this was not achievable, saying it will be 2035 before the work is complete.
Ms Sturgeon said that by 2017 or 2018, it was realised “there are significant hurdles” to completing the project on time.
But that it was “only at that late 2022, early 2023 point it was clear there was no viable route to 2025”.
She said the government was so determined to find a way forward that they “didn’t tell themselves quickly enough” that it wasn’t possible because they “desperately wanted” to deliver the scheme by 2025.
Ms Sturgeon’s predecessor Alex Salmond previously told the inquiry he believes the project became less of a priority after he left government in 2014.
Ms Hansler, who lives in Kincraig, in the Highlands, accused Ms Sturgeon of “spin”.
She added: “The will just wasn’t there so how she can come away with that kind of statement when she knew back in 2017.
“She must have known in 2017 that they were never ever going to deliver on 2025.
“She should have been far more open and she should have told parliament that this was not going to happen.
“She should have told the Highlands but for some reason they chose not to.”
Meanwhile, David Richardson, Federation of Small Businesses’ Highlands & Islands development manager, said the road must be dualled if the region is to attract and retain younger people and families at a time of population decline.
He added: “The A9 is the main artery that keeps the Highlands and north alive, enabling people and goods to travel between more far-flung parts and the central belt, and vice versa, but we all know that it is slow, dangerous and discouraging – a disincentive to travel.
“The delay is hugely disappointing, but what matters now is that every sinew is strained by all those involved to get the job done as quickly as possible. It’s not just lives that we are trying to protect and save, it’s economies and communities.”