£3.2m port grant to take a million lorry miles off road

THE Scottish Government hopes to cut more than a million lorry miles from Scotland's roads by awarding £3.2 million to Montrose Port Authority.

The money will be used to construct a new deep-water berth to allow for additional shipping services between Scotland, England and mainland Europe.

A range of agricultural, commercial and oil-related businesses have signed up to use the facility and transfer their freight from road to water.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is providing 5 million for the project.

Transport, infrastructure and climate change minister Stewart Stevenson said: "This significant investment will enable the port authority to upgrade the facility and allow local businesses to switch freight from road to water.

"In taking more than a million lorry miles off our roads every year – equivalent to almost 130 lorry journeys a week – this project will cut emissions and noise and boost local tourism by removing lorries from scenic routes."