Campaigners call for inquiry and halt to new road projects
All new road-building projects in Scotland should be halted immediately and a parliamentary inquiry into public spending on the schemes should be launched, according to green campaigners.
The call comes from Transform Scotland, an alliance of organisations advocating for sustainable travel, which has just published a new investigation into Scottish projects benefit ting from city-region deals.
As part of the probe, the alliance uncovered data that shows nearly £1 billion of taxpayers’ money is being plunged into high-carbon transport projects, a move they say is worsening poverty and driving further climate breakdown.
Under the City-region Deals, the Scottish and UK governments work with local authorities to jointly fund major initiatives based on regional priorities to speed up inclusive growth.
Six areas of Scotland qualify for funding – around Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Inverness and Stirling, as well as the combined Tay cities of Dundee and Perth.
Collectively, the deals incorporate £4.6bn of spending.
However, Transform Scotland has calculated that more than 70 per cent of the £1.3bn allocated for transport infrastructure investment – £900 million – is being spent on schemes with a large environmental footprint.
Transport is responsible for the biggest share of Scotland’s total greenhouse gas emissions – 36 per cent – with no progress on reductions.
National climate targets include reducing car use by 20 per cent by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2045.
But the charity says the Cityregions spending contradicts these aims, while increasing traffic congestion and damaging public health.
High-carbon projects in the deals include: the £151m Cross Tay Link Road, near Perth; a new £107m roundabout at Sheriffhall, outside Edinburgh; large road-building projects to on the A9 and A96, in the north of Scotland; a £25m access to Aberdeen South Harbour; and a £10m
Dundee Airport investment.
Meanwhile, the biggest lowcarbon investment – in addition to small-scale active travel and public transport projects – is £139m for Glasgow’s Avenues scheme, which aims to transform the city centre into a people-focused area with better pedestrian and cycle facilities.
The report, titled Dirty Deals, also found City-region projects were developed with no carbon assessments or reference to Scotland’s climate targets, and flags a lack of transparency and data around the carbon impact of spending.
Transform Scotland director Colin Howden said: “The City Deals provided an opportunity for transformational investment in transport in our cities, but local and national politicians have instead blown the cash on a new round of roadbuilding that will inevitably generate more traffic and higher emissions.”
Transform Scotland is calling for a Scottish parliament inquiry into the issue, roadbuilding to be stopped and funding to be redirected to active travel and public transport.
The City Deals provided an opportunity for transformational investment in transport in our cities