A third road bridge across the Tay at Perth should be built north of the town on a controversial route that could directly affect Scone Palace, according to planners.
The long-awaited £100 million bridge is needed to divert traffic away from Perth’s pollution-choked streets and forms a major part of the council’s planning for the next decade.
The results of a public consultation have been released and will be considered by councillors early next year.
The proposed local development plan will inform all large-scale planning issues until 2024 and one of its cornerstones is the new cross Tay link road.
Among the options were a lengthy loop from the A9 Inverness road to the A94 to Coupar Angus, a route through the city centre and another shorter one from the A9 to the A93 and A94 north of Scone so-called Corridor C.
The last of these has been selected as the council’s preferred option, meaning it would cross the Tay just north of Perth Racecourse and Scone Palace, passing over the A9 south of Luncarty, before rejoining the carriageway near Ruthvenfield.
The hefty document outlines the desperate need for the new crossing, for which funding would have to be sourced.
It states: ”The biggest single constraint facing the Perth area is the capacity of the roads infrastructure in and around Perth. Not only is congestion becoming a problem but the council was required to identify Perth as an air quality management area due to the levels of pollution evident in several areas of the city. The principal cause of that pollution is traffic.
”Work has demonstrated that the combination of background traffic growth and committed development will cause not only unacceptable congestion, but also further exacerbate the poor air quality.
”To do nothing is recognised as not being an option and the council has been working with TACTRAN, (the regional transport authority) in consultation with Transport Scotland to identify solutions which will remove constraints on the long-term development of the Perth core area and ensure that the national trunk road network is not compromised.”
Almost 400 responses were received through the consultation process, most in favour of a new crossing.
There was fury among residents of Redgorton, north of Perth, about the longer loop proposal, while Historic Scotland has expressed disquiet over the effect on Scone Palace gardens and other scheduled monuments from the preferred option.
”These impacts can largely be mitigated by careful routing and good design,” states the report. ”However, Historic Scotland’s potential objections will need to be overcome through further consultation and negotiation.”
Other infrastructure work included in the 369-page document includes improvements to the city bypass, A85 Crieff Road junction, measures to reduce congestion and improve air quality within Perth centre, improvement to public transport including new park and ride sites surrounding Perth and better pedestrian and cycle facilities.
The proposed plan will be considered by councillors at a meeting on January 12, with planners recommending they approve its contents in their entirety.
Should they do so, the public will have until April 9 to raise any issues and these will be examined by an independent reporter in a hearing, public local inquiry or through written submissions.