18 September 2009

Aberdeen Central Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald today called on SNP Ministers to stop dithering and publish a development timetable for the construction of Aberdeen's Western Peripheral Route (WPR).

After asking Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson to lay out a timetable, Lewis Macdonald said:

"The Minister replied that there were 9,000 objections to the WPR and that time was required to examine the report "rigorously".

"Last year John Swinney announced that Ministers would make a decision on the Donald Trump planning application within 28 days of receiving the Report of the Inquiry, which had received 4,800 objections and was followed by a further 1,600 representations.

"Mr Swinney then took 20 days to announce the application had been successful, averaging scrutiny of 320 objections each day.

"Since receiving the WPR report on 30 June, Ministers have been reading it for 82 days so far, averaging rigorous scrutiny of only 110 pieces of correspondence each day.

"It is time SNP Ministers gave the same priority to the WPR as to Donald Trump's golf course.

"If SNP Ministers had stuck to the plans they inherited, they would be able to guarantee the WPR would be ready in time for Offshore Europe 2011.

"Indeed, the original timetable agreed by Jack McConnell would have seen it open in time for this year's event.

"We have already heard from Offshore Europe organisers that the 2011 event in Aberdeen will be cut short due to the city’s poor transport infrastructure being unable to cope with Offshore Europe and the Walker Cup on the same day.

"It is time SNP Ministers reached a decision, and announced a timetable for building the WPR, so that at least we can have certainty it will be open before Offshore Europe 2013!"