Anger at A75 talks delay

A LOCAL MSP has accused the Scottish Government of dragging its heels over an A75 upgrade. Finlay Carson challenged Holyrood due to its failure to engage in discussions with the UK Government over an upgrade for the busy trunk road. He revealed that despite promises to involve itself in talks, no discussions have taken place between the two governments for the past six months. The MSP said: “Exactly six months ago, in this chamber, the First Minister and the then Minister for Transport, Graeme Dey, promised to engage with the United Kingdom Government on an upgrade to the A75, which is often referred to as ‘the goat track’, after it was singled out in the Union Connectivity Review as the trunk road that was in most need of upgrade in the whole of the UK. [caption id="attachment_42948" align="alignnone" width="680"]

ROAD DEFENDER. . . MSP Finlay Carson with his partner Jackie McCamon[/caption] “However, I am told that, no meeting has been held – indeed, a date for such a meeting has not even been organised – despite requests being made from the UK Government. “Given the broken promises, can the Scottish National Party stop dragging its heels and engage with the UK Government to act much faster? “The fact that six months on the Scottish Government has still to hold talks with the UK Government over the A75 is shocking. “It shows what scant regard it has for the people in the south west corner of Scotland who have long been forgotten by them. Haulage companies and the ferry operators have repeatedly highlighted the need for urgent improvements to the A75 and A77 but clearly their views are being ignored by this government.”