Financial boost helps to keep timber transport on the road
Projects in Ayrshire which help improve the timber transport network have been awarded almost £ 800,000 from the Scottish Government.
Forestry is included under Phase 1 of the Scottish Government’s COVID- 19 Route Map, which allows outdoor work to fully restart its operations.
The awards – to East, North and South Ayrshire Councils – are co- financed and drawn from the Strategic Timber Transport Fund which is managed by Scottish Forestry.
The funding goes mostly to improve minor roads – improving surfaces, widening corners, adding traffic calming measures or providing passing places.
All these measures will help keep the flow of timber moving to market and reduce impacts on local communities.
South Ayrshire will be the main beneficiary with almost £ 600,000 of funding.
The roads to get improvements include: B741 Daily Straiton; B734 Barr Pinmore; B734 Barr by Penwhapple; C88 Dalhauran Rd, Crosshill.
East Ayrshire Council will receive the sum of £ 138,666 for the A713 East ( nr Hollybush and Waterside).
And North Ayrshire Council get £ 55,000 for the Machrie Moor Road.
Announcing the funding, Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Tourism said: “Forestry is an important part of the rural sector, generating £ 1 billion to the Scottish economy each year and supporting 25,000 jobs.
“Throughout the COVID- 19 green recovery, forestry has a very important role to play.
“We need to ensure that the infrastructure is there to support the industry on a number of fronts and assisting with getting timber to market is one of them.
“Getting these important timber supplies out relies on a good transport network and this funding will help ensure this is in place to allow a long- term sustainable forest industry.”
Currently, the forest industry is carrying out essential work through the ongoing COVID- 19 outbreak.
Timber is being used to produce key products such as pallets and packaging which are needed to transport food supplies and pharmacueticals.
Stuart Goodall, CEO of CONFOR added: “This is a fantastic boost for Scotland’s forestry sector as we seek to recover from the harsh impacts of COVID- 19.
“This welcome and very significant investment not only provides vital support to help the sector continue to grow, it also provides a real confidence boost at a difficult time.
“These are challenging times for everyone, and I’d like to pay testament to the support that Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing continues to provide to the sector.
“This is an industry that supports many thousands of rural jobs and contributes to tackling climate change as well as supplying essential products for the fight against COVID- 19.”