Easter Ross roads budget won't stretch to required repairs, report reveals
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Highland Council's Easter Ross area committee meets next week to agree its annual roads investment programme.
However, a report for the committee warns that the budget won’t go far, with half the identified road repairs unaffordable.
Members of the Easter Ross committee – which includes councillors from Cromarty Firth, Tain and Easter Ross – will be presented with a proposed list of road investments.
These include major repairs to the Dingwall to Evanton back road, the Achnagarron Road, the Fearn to Balmuchy Road and Shore Road.
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But there’s not enough money in the pot to undertake capital investment in six more roads. These include the Inver to Tain, Scotsburn, and Kildary to Arabella, among others.
Highland Council has provided members with an estimate of the area’s capital budget, which is around the quarter of a million pound mark. This covers the cost of major repairs to just five local roads.
Previously, Easter Ross sat within the wider Ross & Cromarty budget line. With 23 per cent of the area’s roads, Easter Ross now gets 23 per cent of its budget, which amounts to £254,534.
Councillors will meet on January 23 to discuss and agree the capital plan. Also on the agenda are the latest statistics around fires and a report on local community funding.
The community funding brief proposes that investment of £3000 for Alness public toilets should go back into the local pot, due to ongoing vandalism at the site.
