Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson today pushed for urgent action on ‘long overdue’ improvements to the A75.
Attending the Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee today Finlay raised a number of concerns over the lack of action from Transport Scotland on improvements to the vital route between Gretna and Stranraer.
The committee last considered the petition at its meeting on 24 November 2016 and agreed to write to the Transport Minister Humza Yousaf, who has since replied committing to a traffic management study.
Convenor of the Committee, Labour MSP Johann Lamont, described the Ministers response as the ‘worst kind of civil service letter’ that ‘doesn’t give a sense of something very active going on.’
In his submission to the committee, Finlay said:
“The last thing we need is for Dumfries & Galloway to become the forgotten part of Scotland.
“The economic impact for Dumfries & Galloway is not just about what we can achieve in the future but whether without these improvements we will be open for business at all.”
Finlay went on to describe the commitment by Trasnport Minister Humza Yousaf to carry out a local transport survey as ‘disrespectful’ to local residents who have been campaigning for urgent action regarding A75 upgrades for many years.
The Committee has agreed to arrange a visit to the A75 as a next step.
Commenting after the Committee Finlay said:
“I was delighted to attend the Public Petitions Committee today to make the case for these vital improvements to the A75.
“For far too long Ministers have been twiddling their thumbs while my constituents suffer.
“I have to commend the fantastic work that local constituents including the Dual the A75 action group have done to bring this issue forward and hope that we can begin to see some progress finally made.
“I was troubled to learn that Councillor Colin Smyth MSP, who is Chair of the Dumfries & Galloway Council Economy, Environment and Infrastructure Committee, has yet to respond to any correspondence from the Dual the A75 pressure group. I sincerely hope that he will check his inbox and respond to this issue with the urgency it deserves.”
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