The Scottish Conservatives’ candidate in Banffshire and Buchan Coast has launched a scathing attack on the record of former transport minister Stewart Stevenson.
Peter Chapman, who is backing calls to dual the A90 between Ellon and Peterhead, has accused Mr Stevenson of “failing to act” to improve transport in the north-east.
He said “under-investment” in the region’s road network was “costing businesses money every day”.
Regional transport partnership Nestrans has looked at a number of options to improve links between Aberdeen and the north-east ports of Fraserburgh and Peterhead, including rail and road upgrades.
Mr Stevenson, who is standing for the SNP in Banffshire and Buchan Coast, said there was an “excellent case for improved transport infrastructure” in the area, but that all options should be “carefully considered”.
Research carried out by Nestrans and both Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City councils has shown that the level of traffic between Ellon and Peterhead is expected to increase by 50% by 2033.
Local councilor Gillian Owen has already called on the potential MSPs to get behind her “Why stop at Ellon?” campaign.
Mr Chapman said: “I fully support the campaign to dual the A90 beyond Ellon. For far too long, the Buchan towns of Peterhead and Fraserburgh have been left behind in terms of infrastructure investment.
“Stewart Stevenson – a former cabinet secretary for transport – and Alex Salmond have previously gone on record to say that they supported the dualling of the A90, but Mr Stevenson failed to act during his time as a minister and there has been no progress whatsoever since then.
“This under-investment in the local road network is costing businesses money every day as freight is delayed in traffic.”
Colin Clark, the Conservatives’ candidate in Aberdeenshire East who is also backing the dualling of the A90 north of Ellon, added: “I have long been supportive of Councillor Gillian Owen’s ‘Why Stop at Ellon?’ campaign.
“The dualling of the A90 all the way to Peterhead, and eventually to Fraserburgh, must be the priority – this is crucial to the long-term growth of the economy.”
But Mr Stevenson hit back, suggesting the Conservatives were merely focused on “scoring political points”.
He said: “There is an excellent case for improved transport infrastructure in Buchan. The Nestrans report, however, made it clear that there are a range of options available for doing this and these should be carefully considered.
“The SNP has made huge investment in upgrading north east roads – not least £75 million for the AWPR which will slash journey times between Peterhead and Aberdeen.
“While the Tories are focused on scoring political points, I will get on with the job of making the case for better connectivity for Buchan, building on the hundreds of millions already being invested in north-east infrastructure under the SNP.”