“Scottish Parliament to Consider Joint Petition for ‘High Road’ Solution on A82 Upgrade
On Wednesday 2 April 2025, The Scottish Parliament’s Citizen Participation & Public Petitions Committee will review a joint petition from Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and Helensburgh and District Access Trust. The petition, advocating for a ‘High Road’ solution to the upgrade of the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan, will be heard by the Committee, where evidence will be presented by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport.
First lodged in September 2022, the petition can be found on the PE1967 High Road petition’s webpage, which outlines its full history.
John Urquhart, Chair of the conservation charity Friends of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, expressed his frustration at the delay in bringing the Transport Secretary before the Petitions Committee, stating, “It has taken over 2 years for us to reach this point. In that time, we have lost track of the number of individuals who have occupied this post, which speaks volumes to how the government has allowed this key infrastructure project to drift.”
Urquhart emphasized the importance of viewing the project as a major infrastructure venture, rather than a series of road engineering tasks, stating, “The reality is that it will define the future of north Loch Lomond and its fragile human and natural communities for generations to come.” The petition advocates for a thorough evaluation of the benefits of the High Road option, in comparison to the Low Road idea, taking into consideration the National Park’s newly announced “Future Nature Landscape Connections Initiative.” This initiative reinforces the argument for preserving the loch shore as an essential landscape connection, both culturally, recreationally, and economically, as well as its ecological role as an Atlantic Oakwood wildlife corridor and freshwater littoral ecotone, vital for preserving and promoting biodiversity.
The petition has garnered over 900 signatures to date.
Press Release Distributed by Pressat.co.uk on Monday 24 March, 2025.”