Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron has described the SNP Government’s lack of action in delivering a permanent solution to the problems besetting the A83 as “inexcusable”, after Argyll and Bute Council today passed an emergency motion on the ongoing impact of frequent road closures.

The Scottish Conservative MSP said: “The SNP have been in power for more than 13 years but have done next to nothing to deliver a permanent solution to the chronic problems with the A83 which are strangling the economy of much of Argyll and Bute.

“It is truly shocking to learn just yesterday from the Fraser of Allander Institute that the SNP Government is hoarding as much as £1 billion of funding from the UK Government, some of which could of course be spent on sorting out this problem. There are plainly the financial resources to deal with this.

“It is an inexcusable dereliction of duty on their part and will not be forgiven or forgotten by local people whose jobs and livelihoods are being threatened by this ongoing crisis.”

Councillor Alastair Redman, Policy Lead for Business, Regeneration and Commercial Development, on Argyll and Bute Council, added: “We are at our wits’ end at the lack of urgency from Holyrood.

“How are we expected to persuade people to invest here if we can’t even provide a reliable route to the area?

“We have been reduced to checking social media on a daily basis to know whether we are faced with a sixty mile diversion should we need to travel beyond Argyll. If it looks like rain is on its way all bets are off.”