Local MP for Argyll and Bute seeks urgent meeting with the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity after landslip at Rest and Be Thankful

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Local MP for Argyll and Bute seeks urgent meeting with the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity after landslip at Rest and Be Thankful

Following the heavy rainfall in the past few days and the landslip at the Rest and Be Thankful on Tuesday morning, local MP Brendan O’Hara has written to the Scottish Government Minister seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the ongoing problems with the A83 and the economic effect it is having on Argyll, as well as infrastructure difficulties for the west coast of Scotland.

Brendan O’Hara MP commented:

“I recognise and applaud the hard work done by the A83 Taskforce to find a solution to the historical problems at the Rest and Be Thankful. These efforts have resulted in unprecedented levels of engineering work being done over the past couple of years.

But what we have witnessed over the past few days – and with the West of Scotland predicted to become ever wetter due to climate change – shows that a long-term permanent solution to the A83 cannot come quickly enough. 

The Scottish Government have shown themselves to be bold and ambitious both in the scale and scope of major infrastructure projects to support the local and national economy. One needs only look at the magnificent Queensferry Crossing for an example of that.

I’ll be asking the Transport Minister to view the A83 in that same light, a vital economic artery for the West if Scotland that deserves the same level of support as the bridge over the Forth or the Aberdeen by-pass.”

“Closures of the A83 leads to untenable diversions and rerouting of traffic onto other roads which are simply not designed to withstand these volumes of traffic. A solution to infrastructure investment to stem the flow of people and investment from the west coast must be found as a matter of urgency.”

“The rural west of Scotland had suffered decades underinvestment and depopulation and while I’m extremely grateful for the work the Scottish Government have done thus far at the Rest and Be Thankful, we need a permanent solution and that means investment.”

“I’m not an engineer and I would pretend to have to have all answers but the people of Argyll need a permanent solution. The repopulation and with it the economic regeneration of my constituency depends on a permanent solution and that’s what I am keen to discuss with the Minister as a matter of urgency”.