THE leader of South Ayrshire Council has called for significant investment in the A77 trunk road to increase safety, reduce journey times, and boost trade.
Councillor Martin Dowey told Project Scotland the route, which links Scotland and England with Northern Ireland, is ‘basically a third world country road’, and warned that unless improvements are made to the ‘dangerous’ road, there is a significant risk of businesses relocating to other parts of the UK.
“The A77 is in very poor condition,” councillor Dowey said. “It has been lacking investment for the last 40-50 years. The ferry companies are concerned with delays on the road. 30 years ago, you could get from Ayr to Stranraer in an hour. You’re probably talking an hour-and-a-half now.
“In my last profession I was a cop and I’ve seen a lot of people lose their lives on that road. It’s not fit for purpose. The public should have a road that’s safe and, within speed limits, is quick to get anywhere. An hour-and-a-half to travel 50 miles – and it’s probably nearly two hours for lorries doing 40mph – is not good enough in this day and age.”
Councillor Dowey believes many people don’t appreciate the strategic importance of the road, particularly with regards to the number of heavy goods vehicles delivering produce from Scotland’s central belt to Northern Ireland.
With Northern Ireland enjoying slightly more favourable conditions than the rest of the UK when it comes to trading with the EU, the road is potentially a gateway into the Eurozone for Scottish businesses.
Project Scotland spoke to councillor Dowey following the publication of a new report examining the benefits of dualling both the A77 and A75 trunk roads. Commissioned by South Ayrshire Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, and Mid and East Antrim Council, the report, undertaken by Sweco, claims that dualling the two roads could unlock £5 billion of ‘positive benefits’ to the UK economy including reduced journey times and vehicle operating costs, as well as environmental gains.
The roads, which run from Ayr to Stranraer and Stranraer to Gretna, are currently mainly single carriageway, with congestion a frequent issue.
Councillor Dowey said feedback to the report has been ‘really good’ and cited the fact that the three local authorities are working together as a positive step in plans to bring about change. He said the issue of a lack of investment in the roads goes back decades and is not the fault of one particular administration.
“If you go south of Ayr, the deprivation is some of the highest in Scotland,” councillor Dowey added. “There’s rural poverty. I think (the A77) has been neglected because people just assume it’s used by people going to the football or going on holiday.
“The reason businesses use the North Channel is because even on the roughest days, it’s very rare that the ferries don’t sale. If you’re going from further down in England, you’ve also got the distance involved. A lot of times they won’t sale when the Cairnryan to Belfast or Larne will continue. The Northern Irish politicians get the significance of the road.”
Councillor Dowey is now calling on politicians from across the political spectrum to work together and would like to see the Scottish Government commit to a proper study on both roads.
“Big business goes where it’s easiest for them and, if this continues, that’s my fear. Yes, the ferries will still be there, but the distributors will move to the north of England and that’s a lot of jobs in the central belt that will be lost.”
Project Scotland put these points to Transport Scotland. Transport minister Kevin Stewart said, “I am aware of the recently published Economic Impact Assessment commissioned by local councils and my officials are now considering how this information may help inform the future business cases for improvements to both routes.
“Proposals for future investment in the Scottish road network have been set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). Improvements to the safety, resilience and reliability of the A75 are one of the 45 recommendations included in STPR2. Measures to be considered include enhancing overtaking opportunities, widening or realigning carriageways – for example, bypassing the villages of Crocketford and Springholm – and improving junctions.
“On the A77, we opened the £29 million Maybole Bypass in January 2022, improving road safety and air quality in the town centre as well as bringing more reliable journey times for road users. This is in addition to around £35 million spent on four schemes along the A77 since 2007 at Haggstone, Glenapp, Park End to Bennane and Symmington to Bogend Toll.”
