Far more money needed to get Caithness roads to acceptable standard, says campaigner

A Caithness campaigner has warned of the "vast" cost that will be involved in getting local roads back to the standard of a decade ago.

Iain Gregory highlighted the "sheer scale of the collapse" affecting motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users at a time when Highland Council is facing "dire financial challenges".

Mr Gregory, co-founder of Caithness Roads Recovery (CRR), repeated the group's call for more support from both the Scottish and UK governments.

He was speaking after Highland Council leader Raymond Bremner confirmed that the local authority is on target for a capital spend of almost £3 million on Caithness roads within this financial year.

Mr Gregory welcomed that assurance but said: "Far more investment is needed to restore Caithness roads to an acceptable standard."

In a recent update to the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council, Councillor Bremner described the spend as the biggest amount of capital funding the county has received from the local authority in a single financial year for its roads infrastructure. He also pointed to an increase in capital spending on local roads of more than 300 per cent against the amount committed in 2016.

Mr Gregory said: "We were very pleased when Highland Council voted earlier this year to make substantial additional capital spend allocations to Caithness and to Skye. This was a clear and welcome acknowledgement of just how bad things have become in the county, as a consequence of many years of serious underfunding and failure to invest in our roads.

"It is also heartening to learn that the council spending is on track as planned.

"Unfortunately, the sheer scale of the collapse, right across the county, is evident to all, affecting drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and wheelchair users, and the cost of getting things back to the standard we used to enjoy only a decade or so ago is going to be vast.

"There is no doubt that Highland Council faces dire financial challenges, which will only increase as capital reserves diminish, and we predict that the total amount of money allocated to the roads budget will be slashed in the new financial year."

Mr Gregory noted that a council report in March 2023 stated: "The medium to long-term outlook for the council’s finances continues to look very challenging with significant concerns around the council’s medium to long-term financial sustainability. Without a major change to service provision or funding the council may exhaust all of its revenue reserves over the medium term."

Mr Gregory added: "CRR has said from the outset that substantial support is required from both the Scottish Government and the UK government to repair and upgrade not only council-maintained roads but also the seriously outdated A9 north of the Dornoch Bridge and the A99 from Latheron to Wick.

"With this in mind I recently travelled to Holyrood, with Thelma Mackenzie, chairperson of Thurso Community Council, and appealed for support not only from the Scottish Government but from the UK government, asking for our concerns to be passed to Michael Gove MP with a view to obtaining Levelling Up funds, ring-fenced for Caithness. We continue to actively pursue this angle."

He added: "According to the council's most recently provided list of 'outstanding work instructions', obtained on July 13, 2023, Caithness had 5692 such instructions, 7.47 defects per kilometre – far and away the worst area in Highland. As a comparison, Inverness had 2.32 defects per kilometre and Nairn had 0.55.

"We are also pleased to note that Councillors Ron Gunn and Richard Gale, chairmen of the Caithness and Sutherland area committees respectively, are seeking action to have vital works carried out on the A9 north of the Dornoch Bridge, as detailed in the recent letter from Councillor Matthew Reiss to Maree Todd MSP.

"CRR has recently highlighted this issue, and we will continue to press strongly for investment. The A9 does not stop at Inverness.

"In short, not only do we need very substantial capital funding, but increased revenue spend is also essential. The hard-pressed road crews can only do so much, and there is a clear need for extra – permanent – local staff in the far north."

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