29 December 2010
Ayrshire truck relief project faces axe
*** Issued on behalf of Ailsa Horizons ***
News release from Ailsa Horizons
Government grant cut threatens Girvan rail freight project
A rail project which would take thousands of heavy lorries off the A77 in Ayrshire and the A76 through Dumfries & Galloway faces the axe if the Scottish Government goes ahead with scrapping a grant scheme which has relieved Scottish roads of over 33 million lorry miles a year since 1997.
Ailsa Horizons [1], the rural economic development agency for South Ayrshire has been leading the project to create a freight railhead adjacent to William Grant’s large grain distillery in Girvan [2]. The agency was on the verge of submitting an application to the Government for a Freight Facilities Grant [3] when the Government’s Draft Budget revealed that the successful grants scheme – which has been operating since 1974 – was to be abandoned completely.
Stuart Lindsay, Manager of Ailsa Horizons, said:
“The Girvan Intermodal Railhead is a key element in our strategy for economic regeneration in rural South Ayrshire. It will protect existing jobs and encourage new industry to locate where there is a choice of both road and rail for freight transport. But FFG is critical to the viability of the scheme, thousands of lorry journeys will remain on the roads and thousands of tonnes of carbon will be emitted in to the atmosphere unnecessarily each year.
“We understand that the Scottish Government is forced to make large savings in its budgets. But this is a small scheme with a national funding requirement of just £7m or less annually. Cutting it seems to be a very short-sighted budget saving, when there are so many economic and environmental benefits involved. I hope MSPs of all parties will be able to see beyond party politics and find a way to reverse the proposal to shut down this fund”
Colin Howden, Director of Transform Scotland [4], the national sustainable transport alliance, said:
"Scrapping FFG goes against the Scottish Government's aim of shifting freight from road to rail and sea. The Girvan railhead would offer a welcome reduction in heavy lorry traffic for settlements like Maybole, Minishant, New Cumnock, Sanquhar and Thornhill. FFG should be retained and re-launched on a wider front, with a concerted promotional drive to Scottish manufacturers, processors and logistics companies.
"The Government also has strenuous targets to meet on climate change. The decision to scrap FFG puts its commitment to these in doubt. Rail freight is three times more energy-efficient than road haulage, and there are clear carbon benefits from schemes like this."
Cathy Jamieson MSP, whose Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency includes Girvan, has lodged a motion [5] on the matter in the Scottish Parliament. She said:
"The Freight Facilities Grant has been hugely successful and the Girvan scheme has the potential to benefit the local economy, as well as improving the local environment. The move from road to rail could greatly reduce the pressure on local roads, and I know the scheme has the support of many local communities. I hope that my motion will receive cross-party support, allowing this important issue to be debated in the Scottish Parliament."
It is anticipated that Cathy Jamieson’s motion and the proposal to axe FFG will be debated in the Scottish Parliament on 13th January.
Tony Berkeley, Chairman of the Rail Freight Group – a nationwide body which represents rail freight users and suppliers – said:
“Projects such as the Girvan Intermodal Railhead show how small amounts of Government grant can support significant local investment in rail, and deliver economic and environment benefits across Scotland. We are urging the Scottish Government to reconsider the axing of the Freight Facilities Grant scheme, so that businesses like this can prosper and local communities can benefit from significant reductions in lorry traffic.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Ailsa Horizons is a charity and social enterprise established to build on the experience and track record it developed since 2002, when it was initially set up as Girvan Horizons, a Social Inclusion Partnership project. It is the rural regeneration company for South Ayrshire and operates a number of projects and services to community groups, social enterprises, and public and private sector organisations – see <http://www.ailsahorizons.co.uk/>http://www.ailsahorizons.co.uk for details.
[2] Girvan Intermodal Railhead is a planned road-rail freight interchange adjacent to the Grangestone Industrial Estate. In its initial operating phase it would handle up to 100,000 tonnes of freight annually – removing up to 4,000 lorries a year from the A77, A76 and other roads. Key initial rail flows would be wheat from Yorkshire and wood pellet to Yorkshire, Merseyside and the Midlands.
[3] The Freight Facilities Grant scheme offers grant aid up to 75% of the capital cost of facilities required to secure mode switch from road to rail or sea. FFG has been in existence since 1974, and since 1997 alone 37 awards, totaling £68.9 million, have been made to projects in Scotland – taking over 33m lorry miles off Scottish roads annually. The vast majority of the switch from road to rail in the (non-coal) market in Scotland in recent decades has been achieved with FFG assistance, which has also secured significant mode switch from road to sea, eg for timber on the west coast.
[4] Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups – see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx>http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx for details.
[5] Cathy Jamieson MSP’s motion is: “That the Parliament celebrates the contribution of the Scottish Government's Freight Facilities Grants (FFG) in moving freight to rail and sea, and contributing to reducing carbon emissions and congestion; notes 37 FFG awards, totalling £68.9 million have been made to projects in Scotland reducing the need for 33,573,500 lorry miles per year; recognises that Transport Scotland are in advanced discussions with a number of current bidders to the fund, including a proposal by a social enterprise in South Ayrshire for a railhead at Grangestone by Girvan; believes that the Grangestone railhead could provide great economic and environmental benefits to South Ayrshire; regrets that the Scottish Government has proposed to reduce support for the Freight Industry from £10.3m in 2010-11 to £2.9m in 2011-12, including the closure of the FFG scheme for projects which will incur expenditure after 31 March 2011; and expresses great concern that this would put in jeopardy the work that has been done on the Grangestone railhead scheme and similar proposals across Scotland.”
END OF NEWS RELEASE