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New government clashes with Scottish Office over road upgrade - Labour's M80 shock
00:00 07 May 1997
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The new Labour Government is set to risk its green credentials -
only days after being elected by overturning a sensitive planning
decision.
The Scottish Office had decided earlier this year to get an extra link on the M80 with minimal environmental impact by upgrading the A80 two-lane dual carriageway instead of encroaching on the green belt land (CJ 5 February).
But the Blair administration is now preparing to reverse this Conservative decison to please locals.
Controversy over the M80 re-think erupted during last week's General Election as the new MP for Cumbernauld & Kilsyth, Rosemary McKenna, campaigned among locals hostile to the A80 upgrade. The locals in Cumbernauld and Condorrat, who live closest to the existing dual carriageway, were told that Labour would review the route for the new motorway.
The Scottish Office proposed two route options in 1995 - the A80 upgrade and a new route through the Kelvin Valley. The options were contested by rival locals and the latter was dropped as it "would have serious long-term effects on the landscape of the area," said a SO spokesman before the Election last week. It is this option that the new Government now wants to resurrect.
He said that the A80 option would have fewer long-term effects on the environment. But people living near the A80 are furious about the short term traffic disruption from upgrade works to locals and commuters.
The M80 move comes despite the new Government's efforts to push its green credentials via John Prescott's new "super-ministry," which is to boost public transport and sustainability. Labour is also trying to be green by revamping the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme to make it self-financing and more effective.
The œ150 million new road is needed to complete the motorway network in central Scotland, linking the M73, M74 and M6. The final section of the M80 is to be procured on a Design, Build, Finance and Operate basis, which Labour supports.
The controversial project will pitch supporters of short-term convenience against long term benefit. If the Labour Government reverses the choice of route, the high-profile DBFO project is understood to become a focal point for environmental protests.
l Election special page 3
The Scottish Office had decided earlier this year to get an extra link on the M80 with minimal environmental impact by upgrading the A80 two-lane dual carriageway instead of encroaching on the green belt land (CJ 5 February).
But the Blair administration is now preparing to reverse this Conservative decison to please locals.
Controversy over the M80 re-think erupted during last week's General Election as the new MP for Cumbernauld & Kilsyth, Rosemary McKenna, campaigned among locals hostile to the A80 upgrade. The locals in Cumbernauld and Condorrat, who live closest to the existing dual carriageway, were told that Labour would review the route for the new motorway.
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The Scottish Office proposed two route options in 1995 - the A80 upgrade and a new route through the Kelvin Valley. The options were contested by rival locals and the latter was dropped as it "would have serious long-term effects on the landscape of the area," said a SO spokesman before the Election last week. It is this option that the new Government now wants to resurrect.
He said that the A80 option would have fewer long-term effects on the environment. But people living near the A80 are furious about the short term traffic disruption from upgrade works to locals and commuters.
The M80 move comes despite the new Government's efforts to push its green credentials via John Prescott's new "super-ministry," which is to boost public transport and sustainability. Labour is also trying to be green by revamping the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme to make it self-financing and more effective.
The œ150 million new road is needed to complete the motorway network in central Scotland, linking the M73, M74 and M6. The final section of the M80 is to be procured on a Design, Build, Finance and Operate basis, which Labour supports.
The controversial project will pitch supporters of short-term convenience against long term benefit. If the Labour Government reverses the choice of route, the high-profile DBFO project is understood to become a focal point for environmental protests.
l Election special page 3
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