Ross intervenes to delay closure of “Snow Road” to protect Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival
Moray MP Douglas Ross has intervened with Aberdeenshire Council to delay the closure of the A939 “Snow Road” tourist route. Douglas was contacted by concerned business owners from Tomintoul who discovered that the A939 was to be closed for 3 weeks from the end of April for repairs to take place on the Gairnshiel Bridge. The closure period would have coincided with the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival which takes place in early May and attracts large numbers of tourists to Moray.
Douglas said: “I am very concerned that there has been no communication with the local community and there was no awareness of the whisky festival. I was already in contact with Aberdeenshire Council about concerns over weight restrictions on the Gairnshiel Bridge but to close it altogether at such an important time could have had a very damaging impact on the festival. I am encouraged that council officials, once they became aware, agreed to move the date of the repairs but I remain concerned that an understanding that the community should be consulted in advance appears to have been overlooked. I shall be speaking to Aberdeenshire Council to ensure that there is no repeat of this failure to consult.”
Douglas added: “I did ask whether the repair work could be undertaken outside the tourist season but it seems that the repairs cannot wait until the Autumn because of the scale of the damage.”
Gairnshiel Bridge, which dates from 1751, has been struck three times recently in road traffic collisions causing damage to coping stones and threatening to cause the condition of the bridge to deteriorate. The Council also plans to undertake work on the Milton Bridge, which is further down the A939 towards Ballater, at the same time as it is repairing the Gairnshiel Bridge.