Route Action Plan and Priority Trans-European Network Road Links

That the Parliament recognises the strategic importance of the ports of Stranraer and Cairnryan and the A75 corridor, in linking Northern Ireland and Scotland with the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and in developing priority Trans-European Network links; applauds the efforts of Dumfries and Galloway Council and the North Channel Partnership to highlight the strategic importance of the corridor as well as its economic importance to South West Scotland; notes the concern of the Council and the Partnership that the Executive’s current proposals for the A75 will neither ensure improvements to the standards required for a Trans-European Networks road link, nor deliver agreed improvements within a timescale which would allow Stranraer and Cairnryan to compete effectively with the A55-Holyhead corridor, and calls upon the Scottish Executive, in recognition of the strategic importance of the A75 corridor, to work with all relevant partners to reassess the A75 Route Action Plan proposals, with a view to promoting a more comprehensive upgrading of the route and bringing forward firm funding proposals.