Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

NC500 road’s foot-deep potholes branded a ‘a danger to the public’

Stretch of the North Coast 500 at Glen Docherty in Wester Ross.
Stretch of the North Coast 500 at Glen Docherty in Wester Ross.

A remote Highland road that forms part of one of Scotland’s most popular tourist routes has been branded the nation’s worst pothole offender.

Residents and politicians are demanding action over the condition of the A896 road between Annat and Shieldaig.

It makes up part of the NC500 coastal tourist route in Wester Ross but has been branded a “public danger” with some of the holes said to be a foot deep.

Highland Council has pledged work to improve the single track road will take place, but only with refilling.


Local and Proud: Follow our new Facebook page dedicated to the Highlands and Islands


The state of the road has also been highlighted in a letter to local authority chief executive Donna Manson from local resident Billy Westhead, who wrote: “They are third world road conditions in the Highlands, which will only get worse with the increased traffic brought by the NC500.

“These potholes are typically between six and eight inches deep – some more – with sharp and almost vertical edges.

“Locals and visitors to the area alike are suffering damage on a daily basis. Contractors working at my home have had two punctures in the last fortnight alone.

“Will it take a serious injury – or worse – before these abysmal road surfaces are repaired?

“Highland Council occasionally have the holes filled with loose tarmac which merely lasts a week or two.

“If budgets are too stretched to implement correct repairs then they’re certainly much too tight to squander money with pointless and temporary patch ups.”

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Gail Ross said: “This road is in an unacceptable state of disrepair and I have written to Highland Council to ask that it is given immediate attention.

“The short term fix currently being used is obviously not working and this also needs to be looked at.

“Increased traffic on our roads is becoming a worry all over as the infrastructure struggles to cope.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said: “All available local resources are fully engaged with delivering the 2019/20 structural maintenance programme and are currently working on the A890 Strathcarron to Achnasheen Road.

“ The potholes on the A896 will be repaired with hot bituminous macadam within the next 14 days once the strategic works on the A890 are completed.”