Road safety fears at new development

MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS will soon see Crieff ’s Broich Road become one of the town’s busiest streets, leading to serious concerns over its safety.

A new primary school and the community’s first supermarket will take shape in the coming months, bringing with them a huge influx of traffic.

The community has long campaigned for improvements to the road to ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, but with little success.

With the new developments soon to get under way, there is a worry that the community will bear the brunt of the inaction of prospective developers and Perth and Kinross Council.

In total, Broich Road will soon boast two primary schools— St Dominic’s and the new Crieff Primary — as well as the Strathearn Community Campus, which is home to Crieff High School. Those three schools have a combined roll of more than 1,000 pupils.

Preparatory work is also under way for the construction of a new Tesco store.

Local MP Gordon Banks has written to Perth and Kinross Council’s chief executive Bernadette Malone to express his concern that the infrastructure is not in place to accommodate such development.

He has called upon the council to explore urgently all possible avenues of improving road safety, such as road widening, installation of traffic calming, and better maintenance and lighting of pavements.

He has also asked Tesco if the company will be willing to contribute to the works.

“It is undoubtedly a positive time for Crieff, with the construction of the new supermarket and new school, but I do worry that certain aspects of these plans are ill thought through,” Mr Banks said.

“I have been campaigning for years to improve road safety along Broich Road in spite of stern opposition to change by Perth and Kinross Council.

“Now these latest developments will mean that Broich Road will be one of the town’s busiest roads.

“I fear that nothing has been done to improve safety for the schoolchildren, parents and drivers using this stretch of road.”

He added: “While the council say they have no budget to make these changes, they have had several years to muster the appropriate finance to improve this road.

“I fear now that it will take a serious accident before the council takes action.”

A council spokeswoman said it had not yet received Mr Banks’ letter but would reply in due course.

“Safety on the roads outside any of our schools is a priority for the council and the new primary school being developed in Crieff is no exception to this,” the council said.

“We will work with the local community to address any concerns they may have as the development progresses.”

Cessford. Picture: Kim Broich Road, Crieff, which is to be the site of major development.