Residents claim rural roads cannot take strain of new developments

perthshire: Unclassified road is narrow, winding and parts are dangerous, say local residents

People in rural Perthshire fear their road will buckle under an increase in traffic due to two proposed developments.

The schemes – an eco-camp at Kinvaid Farm, Moneydie, and 17 holiday huts at Gellybank Woods – have yet to be considered by the Council.

However, locals say the Moneydie to Bankfoot road will not be able to accommodate the traffic if the plans are given the green light by the local authority.

Dr Colin Hood and his wife, Alison, said parts of the route were dangerous, with one section already being used as a rat run by motorists trying to avoid the A9.

The couple said a “virtual tsunami “of cars descended on the area during bank holidays.

Mrs Hood said the stretch of the road from Luncarty to Kinvaid/Gellybank was dangerous for all road users, especially walkers.

“It is narrow, has many blind-sighted double bends and the sides are often banked so they don’t allow pedestrians to escape traffic,” she said. Since 2015, there have been a number of circumstances which have already made the surrounding roads much more dangerous and have resulted in a number of major accidents.”

She said there were three serious collisions on the road last summer, all of them within half a mile of the proposed developments.

“All three accidents were very serious with emergency services in attendance and the air ambulance being called on one occasion,” she added.

“This situation is only going to get worse as work begins on dualling the A9.”

She said the road had already become a rat run for traffic seeking to avoid hold-ups on the A9 at Inveralmond and Luncarty.

“Things are getting so bad that locals now call this stretch of the road the third lane of the A9”, she said.

“This routinely happens every Friday and Saturday during the holiday seasons, and bank holidays are a particular case, when a virtual tsunami of cars descends on the area.

“The road just won’t cope with all the traffic if these plans go ahead.”

A council spokeswoman said no one would comment on the transport claims as the matter has not yet been determined by the planning and development management committee.

“We can’t pre-empt the discussion,” she added.

The committee will discuss the Moneydie eco-camp application at a meeting tomorrow.

Things are getting so bad that locals now call this stretch of the road the third lane of the A9. ALISON HOOD