Future A9 travellers will eventually rest in a layby built over the heart of one of Scotland’s bloodiest battlefields.
Highland Perthshire groups, which fought to protect the site of the famous 1689 Killiecrankie battlefield, have been left “disappointed” by the Scottish Government’s recent decision on dualling between the area and Glen Garry.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth confirmed campaigners’ worst suspicions this month when she announced the A9 route will expand through the very heart of the battlefield, where furious fighting was concentrated.
Ministers have also pressed ahead with plans to build laybys on the battlefield site, the campaigners highlighted.
‘We have lost’
Loretta McLaughlan is a member of Killiecrankie, Fincastle and Tummel Community Council.
The community council was a key party in the combined group of objectors formed to streamline opposition.
She said: “We are disappointed we have lost. Our objection failed.”
Community, historical and battle re-enactment organisations joined together to fight the proposals, a campaign dating back to 2017 when the plans were first published.
A Public Local Inquiry (PLI) into the plans was held in early 2020 but Covid delayed its report until June 2022.
Loretta said the group objected to dualling on the northbound carriage of the existing A9.
Dualling on the southbound carriage would have involved engineers blasting through rock and would therefore have come with a higher price tag than the approved plan.
The campaigners also did not want any laybys on the battlefield to minimise the effect on the site.
“We knew we were up against Transport Scotland. We have to be realistic,” Loretta said.
“But we have highlighted the shortcomings of the planning system and the inadequacy of the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in protecting historic sites.”
The Killiecrankie to Glen Garry section is about 13.4 miles long.
The stretch of A9 through the battlefield is less than two miles long.
Killiecrankie is the only Inventory battlefield in the route of the A9 and it is the first time that the Inventory of Historic Battlefields has been tested in this way.
Historians estimate around 2,800 people died in under an hour of ferocious fighting during the battle.
It is viewed as the opening salvo in the Jacobite wars that ended with the Battle of Culloden in 1745.
Scottish ministers miss opportunity to protect battlefield
George MacLean campaigned against the route as part of the KilliecrAnkie1689 group.
He said Scottish Ministers had “by-passed” an opportunity to protect the battlefield.
He said: “We are disappointed that they did not take the chance to correct a flaw which was identified in the course of the inquiry.
“The Reporter wrote that it is ‘understandable’ that we want to protect the highly sensitive core area but, in this planning process, the heart of the battlefield had no special status.”
He said ministers also had the opportunity to remove laybys off the A9 from the plan.
“It is shocking that they chose not to do so. They missed a chance to live up to their ambition to protect historic sites,” he added.
Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth said on announcing the decision that she was “well aware of the sensitivities around what is an important battlefield at Killecrankie”.
“The site is of historical and cultural significance, which is why Transport Scotland has been engaging extensively with the local community and key stakeholders since 2012.”
She said Transport Scotland published draft orders for the Killiecrankie to Glen Garry scheme in November 2017.
“Transport Scotland made a number of design refinements to reduce land take on the battlefield site following feedback from Historic Environment Scotland and the local community.
“When completed, the A9 dualling programme will bring many benefits to local communities, businesses, visitors and road users.”
Conversation