Edinburgh Sheriffhall flyover 'may never be built' unless it gets go-ahead before Holyrood election, claims MSP
The long-awaited Sheriffhall flyover may never be built if the Scottish Government does not give the go-ahead for the project before next year's Holyrood elections, an MSP has warned.
The upgrade of the notorious junction, which sees regular traffic jams and tailbacks, has been awaiting approval since the report of a public inquiry was handed to ministers nearly two years ago.
And Lothian Tory MSP Miles Briggs now says a decision on the upgrade must be made ahead of the elections next May.
"Otherwise, it's probably not going to happen," he said. "The government keeps saying it is committed to the project, but if they really wanted to get this moving forward they could have."
Mr Briggs was speaking after Midlothian North & Musselburgh SNP MSP Colin Beattie asked for an update on the Sheriffhall project in the Scottish Parliament.
He said: "Many of my constituents are growing increasingly concerned about the delay in the progress of the Sheriffhall interchange project. Will the cabinet secretary give my constituents any comfort regarding timelines for the delivery of the scheme?"
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said she was keen to see progress but it was essential that due process was followed.
"I reassure the member that the Scottish Government remains committed to delivering improvements at Sheriffhall. Although I cannot give a definitive timeline today, I reassure him that ministers recognise it as a priority, and my officials are reviewing the reporter’s report, along with the considerable number of objections, to inform next steps."
Funding for the junction revamp was included in the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Regional Deal announced in July 2017. But in 2020 the plans were put on hold to allow a review of the project as part of a Scottish Government budget deal with the Greens.
A public local inquiry was eventually held in early 2023 and the report, delivered to the Scottish Government in early 2024.
Mr Briggs said: "I'm going to write to Fiona Hyslop and ask her to give a guarantee that the decision will be taken before the election.
"Saying they are committed to it is one thing, but there has been absolutely no evidence of that in their actions to date. They haven't grasped this issue with the leadership it needs. And the problem is only getting worse.
"We need a decision before the election. This is a key national piece of infrastructure, but I'm more and more concerned it could be lost in translation through the election if we don't get a clear decision before then."
Mr Briggs questioned whether the SNP saw Lothian as a priority area. He said Edinburgh was Scotland’s worst-funded council and NHS Lothian the worst-funded health board.
He said: "Transport infrastructure is just another area where they will happily spend money in different parts of the country. We are where all the economic growth is in Scotland but we are getting a really poor deal from the Scottish Government."
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