NEWS RELEASE

Thursday 1st December 2005

Aberdeen western bypass:
Bypass "bad and unnecessary whichever route is chosen"

TRANSform Scotland today condemned the Scottish Executive's decision on the route for a new Aberdeen western bypass. The sustainable transport alliance considers the Executive to have mishandled the process by failing to consider the sustainable alternatives to this socially and environmentally destructive project.

David Spaven, Chair of TRANSform Scotland, said:

"Anyone who thinks that this destructive project is now a done deal is sadly misled. Working with local people on the ground, we look forward to defeating the Scottish Executive at the public local inquiry, just as we did over Glasgow's proposed M74 motorway. [1]

"Any version of the western bypass will do nothing to address the key traffic congestion issue in Aberdeen. Everyone knows that the real problem is car commuting into the city, especially during the morning rush hour. The best way that this could be tackled would be to deliver commuter rail routes into the city. It is unfortunate that the Scottish Executive seem unwilling to invest in public transport, and instead continues to subsidise car use.

"The Scottish Executive has made a deliberate decision to ignore its own policies on evaluating sustainable alternatives to road-building. The current policy direction, by focusing on road-building rather than investigating more sustainable options, is unbalanced and environmentally irresponsible."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

[1] TRANSform Scotland is part of the JAM74 coalition that led the case against the M74 at the public inquiry held between December 2003 and March 2004. See http://www.jam74.org David Spaven gave evidence at the inquiry on behalf of JAM74. The public inquiry report concluded that the road should not be built. Following the Executive's decision to ignore the planning process and go ahead with the project anyway, JAM74 (with FoE Scotland) are taking the Scottish Executive to the Court of Session, Scotland's highest civil court.

[2] TRANSform Scotland's response to the consultation on the route options at available at
http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/info/docs/2005-04_WPR_response.pdf

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