Dave Thompson MSP

IT was encouraging to see positive progress from efforts to ensure that the people who use the A830 were able to hear what improvements are planned for this notorious road and to have a say in that process.

Since the tragic deaths of local teenagers Roddy MacInnes and Kirsty Bryden when their car left the road and plunged into Loch Eilt in September last year, much work has been done to press the case for improvements to a stretch of road that has seen so many accidents in recent years.

In this, much credit must be given to former policeman John Bryden and his wife Jan, Kirsty’s parents, who have dedicated their time to cataloguing an alarming series of accidents on this relatively short stretch of road.

At a meeting in Mallaig earlier this year Transport Scotland agreed to conduct a detailed review of the route between Lochailort and Glenfinnan and an early success was the addition of a crash barrier at the site of the accident where the teenagers died. Then Northern Constabulary and the UK Department of Transport traffic commissioners agreed to hold a series of ‘enforcement days’ to check the road-worthiness of vehicles using the road after suggestions emerged that spillages had been responsible for several crashes.

The results of these studies and inquiries were made known to the community at a public meeting I chaired on Friday November 18th at Astley Hall in Arisaig.

It was encouraging to see several dozen local people had taken the trouble to come and hear the thoughts of Northern Constabulary, Transport Scotland and Scotland TranServ on the maintenance and improvement of the route and also to pass on their own experiences of using the road. I think such a strong turnout helped to get the message across that there is real public concern about the safety of the road.

One aspect that came across very strongly was a consensus that there are five particular accident hotspots on the route. I was pleased that this was recognised in the agreement of Transport Scotland and TranServ for engineers to be guided by members of the public in visiting these and carrying out further investigation.

It was a lengthy meeting (three hours) with lots of questions and debate but I am sure all present will agree that this was a very useful exercise in exchanging information about the work needed to help reduce the number of accidents on the A830.

Another key issue I have been monitoring closely has been the provision of emergency medical assistance beyond normal hours in several West Highland communities.

In the past this has been delivered by local GPs and community nurses but changes to national GP contracts and the imminent retirement of well-known local medical professionals has led some communities to fear for their future cover.

NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service are responsible for ensuring the availability of an acceptable service in all areas and, while managers have been trying to ensure this can continue, I have been keeping an eye on their progress.

My opinion is, and their aim should be, that there must be no reduction in service.

That is why I have pressed NHS Highland chairman Garry Coutts and his staff to explore every possibility to ensure the presence of a sufficient number of suitably-trained staff in the area so that emergency support is available to stabilise any casualty in the vital minutes after an incident.

On a more positive note, just down the coast, the discovery of an ancient resident of the area buried in his boat has shone worldwide attention on this part of the world.

While initial attention has inevitably focussed on The Ardnamuchan Viking’s elaborate burial, further analysis is expected to reveal more about how this area was linked to European power centres and show that historically the West Highlands were part of an international trade network.

In making my immediate call at Holyrood for these important artefacts to be returned to the West Highlands once academics have completed their research, I was aware of the potential benefit to the area’s tourism sector from the presence of a world-famous discovery.

What I am eager to avoid is the situation seen with The Lewis Chessmen, where they were whisked off the island to vaults in London soon after their discovery, not to return for more than a century.

I was delighted that among the first to offer their support for my proposal were Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, and Helena Gray of CFA Archaeology, the team which excavated the site.