The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Campaigner stays hopeful over stalled talks on A90 flyover
Asafety campaigner fighting for a flyover at the notorious Laurencekirk junction says she’s “hopeful” plans will progress after meeting with the Scottish Government’s transport minister.
Jill Fotheringham, a florist from Laurencekirk, has called for improvements at the junction between the A90 Stonehaven to Dundee road and the A937 Laurencekirk to Montrose road for more than 16 years.
The crossing has been the site of many crashes and near-misses, and last month it emerged that more than half of all speeding offences recorded by average speed cameras on the A90 took place there.
In 2016, the Scottish Government confirmed a £24 million safety improvement project, which at the time was due to be in place by 2022.
However, last year it emerged that objections from four parties, including one from Aberdeenshire Council, could push back any upgrades even further.
But this week, following a meeting with Transport Minister Graeme Dey, as well as Angus North and Mearns MSP Mairi Gougeon, Ms Fotheringham says she’s confident that three of the four objections will be resolved.
However, she said she doesn’t have the same confidence in the objection raised by Aberdeenshire Council.
The four objections relate to compulsory acquisition of land and access arrangements.
Ms Fotheringham said: “They told me they’re working very closely with the objectors and are ironing out details.
“The impression that I got from the discussion was that yes, they’ll be able to come up with solutions for everything, but the Aberdeenshire Council one is a tricky one.
“But they’re working on ways on how they can bring this forward.”
Ms Fotheringham added: “Graeme Dey says he wants to get this project going, and so I’m very reassured by that, however I’m not so reassured by Aberdeenshire Council.
“They’re going to have to take their time to avoid further delays, and sort it all out so that this doesn’t happen again, but that’s what the meetings in Laurencekirk were for, to let everyone see what the plans were going to be so there would be no delays.
“Aberdeenshire Council was part of that. They were involved in that, and yet they wait until the decisions have been made to come in with an objection. I find that unhelpful.”
A local public inquiry may be required, but Transport Scotland remains “optimistic”.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said that if the concerns of the objectors are not resolved, it could force a public inquiry, which could further delay the longawaited project.
He said: “We continue to negotiate with objectors to try to resolve this.
“Should we be unsuccessful in removing all objections a public local inquiry may be required.
“We continue to engage with the objectors to the scheme, and we remain optimistic that this dialogue will help to resolve objections where possible.”
A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “The council continues to meet regularly with Transport Scotland and their technical team to look at solutions, and is committed to maintaining a high level of partnership working on the project.”