Aberdeen bypass: Road protest will roll into the highest court in UK

POLITICIANS and business leaders have united in condemning the decision of the protest group standing in the way of the long-awaited £400 million Aberdeen bypass to take their legal battle to Britain’s highest court.

The leaders of RoadSense confirmed they are to take their case to the Supreme Court after three Scottish judges threw out their latest Court of Session appeal against the project.

The legal move could mean a further delay of at least six months – 60 years since plans for a city bypass were first mooted as the solution to the gridlock gripping Europe’s oil capital, and more than two years since the government gave the go-ahead for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR).

Tom Smith, chairman of the local economic forum ACSEF, said: “Given that the public local inquiry and two separate legal processes have thrown out the challenge, a new bid by a small number of objectors to go to the Supreme Court is unlikely to stop the route but it will cause further delays which we can ill-afford. Every extra day this route is delayed costs the tax payer, the north-east and Scottish economies more money.

“There is some time left before RoadSense must officially declare their intentions and the vast majority of people the North-east and further afield will be hoping that they finally see sense and back down.”

Keith Brown, Scottish transport minister, also criticised the decision. He said: “I strongly believe that the vast majority of people in the north east are running out of patience and, like us, want this vital road built as quickly as possible.”

But he vowed: “The Scottish Government has an iron will to proceed with this vital project as soon as the legal process is concluded.”

But William Walton, the chairman of RoadSense, defended the decision to take the case in the Supreme Court.

He said: “We have been advised by our legal team that there is a case to answer at the Supreme Court and, after much deliberation, I have decided to pursue it. The fundamental issue of lack of consultation on the fastlink remains the same.

“In 2005, Tavish Scott announced a route which had not been subject to public consultation. We still believe this is a fundamental injustice which needs now to be heard at the highest court in the United Kingdom.”