A96 dualling review bill rises by more than £1 million in five months

The cost of a long overdue review into plans to fully dual the A96 has soared by more than £1 million since June, we can reveal.

The SNP promised over a decade ago to fully dual the road between Aberdeen and Inverness by 2030, with party activists voting to back the plans again in October.

But a “climate review” of the dualling programme was ordered in summer 2021 when the party joined a power-sharing deal with the Greens.

We revealed last month that the outcome of the A96 corridor review has been delayed for a third time – a year later than first expected.

And now figures obtained by the P&J, following a freedom of information request, show the cost to taxpayers has increased by more than £1m since June, when it emerged £3.8m had been spent on the scheme.

This means the public consultation and review of the plans, which has yet to conclude, has cost almost £5m so far, with the future of full dualling still in doubt.

‘Ludicrous sums of money’

There are fears the road may never be dualled in full between the two cities, depending on the outcome of the review.

Government transport chiefs say the £5m spent so far is “not unreasonable given the length and complexity of the corridor subject to the review and the extent of the work being carried out to complete it”.

It is not the only major infrastructure project putting pressure on the government. The A9 dualling project is also now facing significant delays.

On Wednesday, it was confirmed the road between Perth and Inverness will be dualled by 2035, more than a decade later than originally planned.

North-east MSP Liam Kerr said communities will “rightly be furious at the ludicrous sums of money which have been spent on the A96 corridor review”.

SNP members voting in favour of dualling the A9 and A96 at the party’s conference in Aberdeen in October. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

He added: “Astonishingly, within five months, another £1 million of taxpayers’ money has been churned out on this needless delaying tactic to please the Greens and to stop the full dualling from happening.

“This £5m review should never have been needed in the first place and shows how disgraceful the SNP have handled the upgrade which they promised over a decade ago.”

In October, SNP activists sent a clear message to the party leadership to get on with dualling the A9 and A96 after an overwhelming majority backed the move at their conference in Aberdeen.

Speaking in November, Elgin councillor Jérémie Fernandes, vowed local SNP representatives will continue pushing until they see “spades in the ground”.

What next for the A96 corridor review?

The A96 corridor review was initially due to report by the end of 2022 but it has been delayed three times since.

It is now expected in the new year but will still have to go to a final consultation before a decision on full dualling can be reached.

A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “The total spent to date on the A96 corridor review reflects the extensive appraisal and assessment work that is required to appropriately inform this review and includes consideration of the large number of responses received through the initial consultation exercise and intensive sifting process to determine the initial options for further appraisal.

“More recently the detailed appraisal of the remaining options is ongoing as well as engagement with stakeholders and the development of the further assessment, including a climate compatibility assessment and statutory impact assessments, required to inform the review.

“This expenditure is not unreasonable given the length and complexity of the corridor subject to the review and the extent of the work being carried out to complete it.”