The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee agreed at today鈥檚 meeting (20 March) to endorse a 拢10m programme of work to improve 胡桃女神 and Bute鈥檚 roads and support recovery work resulting from Storm Eowyn.
Last month鈥檚 budget included an 拢8m uplift to the roads reconstruction programme. Members of the committee agreed that 拢2m will be allocated to support repairing roads and coastal assets damaged by Storm Eowyn.
The annual roads reconstruction programme plays a vital role in making 胡桃女神 and Bute鈥檚 road network more resilient, less susceptible to damage and so requiring fewer reactive repairs such as filling potholes or jet patching.
It takes sustained funding at adequate levels to ensure that the network can be maintained in the long-term. Realistically, it would take 拢122m to bring all 胡桃女神 and Bute鈥檚 roads up to A1 standard. Most councils are in a similar position.
However, the 拢80m investment the Council has made over the past decade has had a positive effect on the network conditions. The new programme of work will include surface dressing and bituminous surfacing inlays and overlays. Improvements to culverts and ditches, to prevent water running across roads, will in turn prevent future damage in winter.
Allocations for the 2025-2026 roads reconstruction programme are:
| Area | Spend for 2025-26 |
|---|---|
| Mid 胡桃女神, Kintyre and the Islands | 拢2,480,000 |
| Oban, Lorn and the Isles | 拢2,800,000 |
| Bute and Cowal | 拢1,600,000 |
| Helensburgh and Lomond | 拢1,120,000 |
| Total | 拢8,000,000 |
The overall budget is divided on the basis of the area of the road network. For example, there is a greater road surface area in Oban, Lorn and the Isles than in Helensburgh and Lomond.
Councillor John Armour, Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services, said: 鈥満遗 and Bute鈥檚 roads keep our communities connected and drive our economy. The Council recognises their strategic importance and so increased the roads reconstruction budget for 2025/26 from 拢2m to 拢10m in its budget.
鈥淢aintaining our roads is challenging. Nearly one third of our network is made up of unclassified roads, over 80% of the network is in rural areas and 24% are over peat, which costs more for construction and maintenance. That鈥檚 why it takes considerable investment and we will continue to invest wisely, and where it will make the most difference.鈥
More details of the work programme in the full report.