The B734 road from Barr to Lamdoughty in Ayrshire is set to receive funding for regulating, strengthening and general upgrades, creating safer access for local road users and timber lorries. The road is one of nine across Scotland to benefit from a £900,000 allocation by Scottish Forestry, which manages the Scottish Government's Strategic Timber Transport Fund.
Projects across Scotland
Funding will support upgrades to existing fragile rural roads, creation of passing places, and building short routes to take timber traffic away from people's homes. Other projects include full reconstruction of the Penpont village section of the A702 in Dumfries and Galloway, strengthening of the C29 in Argyll and Bute, and three projects in the Scottish Borders. Highland Council will make structural, strengthening and safety improvements over 28.3 km of road near Lochaline, including 18 additional passing places.
Ongoing initiatives
A further £1.1 million has already been committed this year to ongoing initiatives including the TimberLINK coastal shipping project and a network of Regional Timber Transport officers. TimberLINK operates from Argyll using ships instead of lorries to move timber to wood processors in Ayrshire.
Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands, Jim Fairlie MSP, welcomed the fund's contribution, noting that Scotland's forests capture 14% of Scotland's gross greenhouse gases, generate a £1.1 billion contribution to the economy, and provide over 34,000 jobs. With around 6 million tonnes of timber produced sustainably each year, he said the fund is a great example of collaboration to support local economies.
Impact and history
Dr William Clark, Scottish Forestry's Forest Transport and Innovation Advisor, said TimberLINK moves around 75,000 tonnes of timber off the A83 annually, avoiding thousands of lorry journeys and saving 1,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. Over the past 25 years, £90 million has been invested in timber transport projects, realising projects worth £130 million through co-funding partnerships and helping 452 projects get timber to market.
