Council Seeks Assurances Over Electricity Grid

A proposal by Scottish Transport Minister Tavish Scott to create two regional transport partnerships in the Highlands and Islands is to be strongly opposed in Highland.

Members of The Highland Council’s Transport Environmental and Community Services Committee today (Thursday) unanimously agreed to advise the Minister that it would be "madness" to break up HITRANS, the strategic transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands, with the creation of one regional partnership for Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles and another for Argyll and Bute, Highland and Moray.

They hope the Minister will respond to Council representations, and those of other affected Councils, by reinstating the current HITRANS model when an Order detailing the boundaries and membership of the new Regional Transport Partnerships for Scotland are presented to the Scottish Parliament on Monday 5 September. If the Minster persists with the two partnership model, the Council is set to embark on a vigorous lobbying campaign when the Order is debated by the Parliament’s Transport and Environment Committee.

Councillor Charlie King, Chairman of The Highland Council’s Transport Environmental and Community Services, argued that HITRANS had served the region well over the past four years. It had been held up held up as a model of an effective strategic transport partnership.

He said: "The strength of HITRANS has been in integrating transport services throughout the Highlands and Islands, with the benefits of covering an area represented by the Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Convention of the Highland and Islands and the Highlands and Islands Partnership Programme, which allocates European funding. Most significantly, HITRANS represents a cohesive unit for the interests of the travelling public, both for residents and tourists. Cutting the area in half is madness."

Council Convener Councillor Alison Magee, who is COSLA’s roads and transportation spokesperson, said she shared Councillor King’s concerns. The proposal to divide HITRANS had come as a bolt from the blue as it had not been proposed during the original White Paper consultation. As a result, the consultation process had been ignored.

She said: "Councillor King and members of HITRANS have invested a great deal of time and effort in developing one of the most effective regional transport partnerships in Scotland, which recognises the vital importance of transport in the Highlands and Islands.

"It is illogical to split HITRANS in two and we must be ready to lobby in the strongest terms to overturn the current proposal if the Minister does not heed our response."

The Committee warmly welcomed the decision by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to support retention of HITRANS.