Frustration has been raised by councillors across the southeast of Scotland over delays to the Sheriffhall roundabout flyover project, who were told an update from the Scottish Government would come ‘at some point’.
Councillors from Edinburgh, Fife, Midlothian and the Borders were present at a meeting with a Transport Scotland representative where progress on the roundabout was discussed.
Several of them said that they were being consistently approached by constituents with questions over what was happening with the project.
If completed, the project will see a flyover built over the congested roundabout, where the City Bypass, the A7 and the A6106 all currently meet at ground level.
Project manager and engineer Gavin Dyet, who directs design and promotion of the scheme, represented Transport Scotland to the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Joint Deal committee on Friday.
He said Scottish transport secretary Fiona Hyslop “realised it was a priority scheme for partners”, and that the Scottish Government was committed to it.
East Lothian council’s Labour leader, Councillor Norman Hampshire, asked Mr Dyet: “It’s two years next month since you said there were 1,200 pieces of evidence you had to scrutinise.
“What’s the number of people you’ve got looking at these 1,200 pieces of evidence? Obviously, the economic impact [of the delay] is absolutely huge.
“This is the most congested area in the whole network in Scotland, why aren’t we getting this resolved more quickly than we currently are?”
Mr Dyet replied: “I’m in the promotion side, there’s an information barrier between the team who are looking at the reporter’s report. So there’s that degree of separation.”
But he added that Transport Scotland CEO Alison Irving had confirmed to councils that there were ‘sufficient resources’ working on the evidence.
Both Cllr Hampshire and Mr Dyet were referring to evidence submitted to a public inquiry held two years ago into the state of the roundabout project.
The East Lothian council leader also mentioned the rising cost projections for the flyover, which could cost as much as £300 million despite an initial £120m pricetag.
Scottish Borders Conservative council leader, Councillor Euan Jardine, told Mr Dyet: “I’m sure you’ve pulled the short straw at Transport Scotland to come and sit in front of us.”
Mr Dyet, who was attending the meeting in Edinburgh’s BioQuarter via Microsoft Teams, replied “not at all”, while smiling.
Cllr Jardine continued to ask him: “There’s talk about this 1,200 evidence that needs to be looked at. But we don’t know how much we’ve actually looked at already.
“We’re in here talking about supercomputers, we’re in this hub that’s talking about AI, all of these different things that can actually do things a lot more efficiently than a human can. Why aren’t we looking at that?
“In a previous meeting, we have called for the CEO, Alison Irving, to come to this meeting to discuss, which she has not done.
“We just have Gavin here, and I’m sure you’re really highly capable, but we asked for that, and we’ve not been given it. And it just feels like we’re being pushed, and pushed, and pushed back.”
Mr Dyet said Ms Irving had been asked to the previous City Deal meeting a relatively short time before it happened, and was not free.
And he said that she had not been officially invited to the meeting which took place on Friday, but that she was otherwise engaged anyway.
He continued: “As I said, I’m not involved in that side. I’m on the promotion team, I’m looking to take the project through the statutory process.
“All I can reiterate is that there’s a team working on the advice, and that it will come at some point. As I said, there’s an information barrier with the team who are working on it.”
Cllr Jardine also mentioned that people who did not know what the City Deal was were approaching him and public and asking about the roundabout.
He asked if attempts could be made to set up a meeting between the committee and Ms Irving, which Edinburgh’s Labour council leader and committee convener, Councillor Jane Meagher, said she would try to do.
Midlothian Council chief executive Dr Grace Vickers said: “On behalf of Midlothian, I want to communicate that we are deeply frustrated at the lack of progress in Sheriffhall.
“Midlothian is the fastest-growing local authority, East Lothian is the second fastest growing local authority in Scotland, and we desperately need the Sheriffhall transport solution.
“So my ask today, if you could please take this back to Alison, and that as a matter of urgency, you prioritise this project and provide a clear timeline for its commencement.
“A commitment to action is essential for us in Midlothian to restore public confidence in the delivery of this vital improvement.”
Mr Dyet said he would take the request back to Transport Scotland.
Fife Labour finance spokesperson, Councillor Altany Craik, said: “Euan has expressed our frustration very articulately. I think you can tell where we are in terms of this.
“My question was really about adequate resourcing. And I know, Gavin, you’re not in a position to say much more on that, and that’s fine.
“But if we don’t know what date we’re aiming at, how can we be adequately resourced?
“This is definitely something that needs to be moving quicker than it is, but no point in beating you with a big stick about that when it’s already been done.”
Cllr Meagher addressed Mr Dyet, saying: “We do understand that you are the messenger, and I know you have picked up the strength of feeling on the part of this committee.
“I hope you’ll be able to convey that, and I’m confident, too, that you won’t take it as a personal attack on you.”
Mr Dyet said he was ‘really excited’ to see the project progressed, but that he appreciated the frustration councillors had.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
Like this:
Like Loading…
Related