Edinburgh roads: Scottish Government pays £6.4m to consultants for Sherrifhall flyover scheme

Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs said drivers would be "furious" that so much money had been paid out with nothing to show for it. And he accused the SNP of not taking the project seriously.

The flyover scheme, which includes a reconfigured roundabout, is designed to separate motorway traffic from local traffic and so ease congestion at the busiest junction on the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass.

An artist’s impression of the Sheriffhall flyover, designed to relieve congestion at the busiest junction on the City Bypass | Contributed

It was included in the £1.3 billion City Deal for Edinburgh and South East Scotland signed in 2018, but there has been little progress on the project since. And the report of a public inquiry has yet to be published despite being completed a year ago.

The figure for consultancy fees was revealed in answer to a written question submitted by Mr Briggs in the Scottish Parliament.

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop replied: "The Scottish Government has spent approximately £6.4 million on the necessary design and assessment work for the A720 Sheriffhall Roundabout scheme since Transport Scotland appointed its technical advisor, AECOM, in July 2013.

"This figure is inclusive of VAT where applicable and covers costs associated with design and assessment work. This includes costs associated with options assessment, engineering design and preparation work, environmental assessment (including environmental survey work), traffic and economic assessment, stakeholder engagement, statutory process including public local inquiry, and supervision of ground investigation works."

But Mr Briggs was not impressed. He said: “Drivers across the Lothians will be furious that so much money has been spent while not a single thing has changed.

“Congestion at Sheriffhall is as bad as ever, and the only beneficiaries seem to be consultants who’ve made massive sums at the taxpayer’s expense.

“The lack of action on this project has been appalling. The SNP and Greens have never taken this important work seriously.

“It’s bad enough that motorists have been treated so poorly in relation to this project - now it seems taxpayers in general will have cause for complaint.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman said the Scottish Government was committed to delivering the Sheriffhall project as part of its £300m commitment to the City Region Deal and said the fees paid were “not unreasonable” for the scale of the project.

He said: “We continue to progress the proposed scheme through the statutory process so we can deliver improvements at this key junction as soon as possible.

“Following the public local inquiry for the scheme held in January and February 2023, the Reporter’s conclusions and recommendations have been submitted to Scottish ministers and are currently under active consideration before a decision is made whether to progress the scheme.

“The total spend on technical advisor services to date on the scheme reflects the extensive and necessary appraisal and assessment undertaken to appropriately inform the detailed design work and satisfy the wider development and transport aspirations for the City Region Deal area. This expenditure is not unreasonable for a typical infrastructure project of this scale.

“Construction of the proposed scheme can only commence if it is approved under the relevant statutory authorisation process. Only following completion of statutory consents can a programme be set for delivery of the proposed scheme.”