Skye and Raasay Area roads capital programme approved for 2025/26

Members of the Skye and Raasay Area Committee agreed a list of proposed prioritised roadworks which will be funded out of Highland Council’s Capital Budget allocation for 2025/26.

The local allocations capital budget for 2025/26 remains to be established, which will be calculated from the approved capital budget allocation.

The estimated local allocation for the Skye and Raasay area (based on 2024/25) is £3,001,638 comprising £521,223 for overlay/inlay works, £340,565 for surface dressing works, £50,000 for structures and £2,089,850 strategic allocation.

Skye and Raasay Area Committee Chair, Cllr John Finlayson said: “It is important to take every opportunity to communicate the real scale of both the road conditions and financial challenges before us. We know the roads budget falls short of the funding needed to do everything we want with added challenges being faced with regard to the recent winter weather with rain, frost, snow and salt causing further damage to our roads, and of course the impact of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit Skye annually, travelling on many un-engineered  roads never built for the number of vehicles we now see. Agreeing the capital roads’ priorities for 2025/26, helps raise awareness of what requires to be prioritised based on the road condition survey results and with the funding available, it also allows forward planning for the roads team who work tirelessly and resourcefully to do the best they can with the resources available. Clearly the agreed programme will not please everyone, and local Members will continue to push for additional resource whenever possible and work with Officers to make the best use of the funding available.”

Cllr Finlayson added: “On behalf of the Committee I would like to thank our roads operations teams who have been working tirelessly during the recent challenging adverse winter weather conditions to clear the snow, ice, and debris from our roads. They have been committed to keeping communities connected and worked hard to keep our routes open.”

Works for the Skye and Raasay area are identified based on a prioritised ranking.  The ranking is informed by:

• Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey (SRMCS) data.
• Safety inspections.
• Service inspections; and input and feedback from Ward Members.

Details of the capital roads programme can be found in the report here (Item 6).

Members noted that where future variation may be experienced in the area roads capital programme this will be agreed with Members at Ward business meetings to maintain a dynamic roads programme.