A96 Corridor Review

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Overview and Story Map

The A96 is the trunk road linking Inverness and Aberdeen and it connects a number of communities along its length, including Nairn, Forres, Elgin, Fochabers, Keith, Huntly, Inverurie and Kintore. 

In August 2021, it was agreed by the Scottish Government to take forward a transport enhancements programme on the A96 corridor that improves connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues.

Whilst the current plan is to fully dual the A96 route, it was agreed as part of this process that there would be a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme, to include a climate compatibility assessment to assess direct and indirect impacts on the climate. Statutory assessments would also be undertaken that include a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and social and equality related Statutory Impact Assessments (SIAs).

The A96 Corridor Review covers the transport corridor from Raigmore Interchange at Inverness to Craibstone Junction at Aberdeen. The review has been carried out in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and considers all transport modes including active travel, public transport, rail and road transport. More information on the STAG process is in the ‘Stag Appraisal’ section.

The review considered transport problems and opportunities within the A96 corridor as well as the effects of the global climate emergency and the recovery from COVID-19 on how people work and travel along the corridor. The transport appraisal aspect of the A96 Corridor Review has assessed the performance of interventions (or package of interventions) against specific Transport Planning Objectives (TPOs), the five STAG criteria and also covered the deliverability, affordability and public acceptability elements associated with each intervention (or package).

The option for A96 Full Dualling has also been appraised to assess its performance against current appraisal criteria. Note that the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) scheme has been excluded from the scope of the A96 Corridor Review as it already has ministerial consent.

The detailed appraisal stage of the Review has now concluded and its draft outcomes have been published for public consultation before a final decision can be reached by the Scottish Government.

Story Map

The purpose of our Story Map is to lead you from the background, through the process, and to the draft outcomes of the A96 Corridor Review’s appraisal and assessment work and allow you to feed into the review by completing a consultation feedback form.

For the best experience we recommend viewing this interactive Story Map using a desktop/laptop. Although handheld devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, can be used to view the Story Map, some of the maps may not work as expected and images may need to be pinched or scrolled left or right to see all of the information contained within them.

While we would strongly encourage viewers to access the Story Map, an A96 Corridor Review Draft Summary Report is also available.

Public engagement and consultation

The draft outcomes of the A96 Corridor Review have now been published for public consultation. Your feedback is important and will help a final decision to be reached on the A96 Corridor Review by the Scottish Government and in turn assist Scottish Ministers in planning how transport improvements along the corridor are prioritised.

You can share your views on the new A96 Corridor Review consultation

Our online public consultation period runs from 28 November 2024 to 21 February 2025.

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch please email the project team at: A96CorridorReview@jacobs.com

Alternatively, you can call the stakeholder team on 07506 879562.

If you want to write to us instead, the address is:

A96 Corridor Review
Transport Scotland
George House
2nd Floor
36 North Hanover Street
Glasgow G1 2AD

Previous engagement and consultation

Engagement on the A96 Corridor Review to date has included Stakeholder engagement and public consultation on problems and opportunities as well as suggestions, ideas or interventions for the corridor.

Following the public consultation which was carried out from 12 May 2022 to 10 June 2022, the consultation received a total of 4,687 responses.

All responses received were analysed and results summarised in the published consultation report.

STAG appraisal

Introduction to STAG

The A96 Corridor Review has been undertaken in accordance with the  Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).

STAG is the best practice, objective-led approach to transport appraisal and provides a consistent framework to identify and appraise transport interventions. An appraisal using STAG is required whenever Scottish Government funding, support or approval is needed for a change to the transport system. Using STAG for the review ensures alignment with Transport Scotland’s second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) and industry best practice.

STAG defines a multi-criteria framework that appraises the ability of new transport options to meet specific Transport Planning Objectives (TPOs), and appraises their performance against the five key STAG criteria as well as established policy objectives.

The appraisal undertaken as part of the A96 Corridor Review involves the three core STAG stages:

  • Stage 1 – STAG Case for Change
  • Stage 2 – STAG Preliminary Options Appraisal
  • Stage 3 – STAG Detailed Options Appraisal

STAG Case for Change

The Case for Change stage was completed, and the report detailing the outcomes published in December 2022.

The report covers the identification of problems and opportunities linked to all modes of transport for the A96 corridor, drawing upon relevant data analyses, current policies and strategies and feedback from stakeholder engagement including workshops and public consultation. The report presents details of the Transport Planning Objectives and sub- objectives that have been developed for the A96 Corridor Review. These objectives are based on a comprehensive understanding of the problems and opportunities in the transport corridor, informed by the feedback received during the public consultation in 2022.

The Transport Planning Objectives are a key element throughout the appraisal process, from initial option generation and sifting, through to preliminary and detailed appraisal.

STAG Preliminary Options Appraisal

The Preliminary Appraisal of options was undertaken against the A96 Corridor Review TPOs, the STAG criteria (Environment, Climate Change, Health Safety & Wellbeing, Economy, Equality & Accessibility) and also informed by key findings from the relevant Statutory Impacts Assessments. At this stage the assessment of the options was largely qualitative, and as part of the appraisal, options were aligned with the second National Transport Strategy, in particular the sustainable travel hierarchy and the sustainable investment hierarchy.

As mentioned in the ‘Overview’ section, the Scottish Government’s current plan is to fully dual the A96 route between Inverness and Aberdeen. It was therefore considered appropriate that it progressed to the Detailed Appraisal stage as it has already been the subject of the appraisal undertaken in 2014 that established the Inverness to Aberdeen Corridor Study A96 Dualling Inverness to Aberdeen Strategic Business Case. This option was therefore not considered as part of Preliminary Appraisal.

STAG Detailed Options Appraisal

The options assessed at the Preliminary Appraisal stage were brought forward to the Detailed Appraisal. In recognition that several of the options were complimentary and would therefore provide a greater net benefit if delivered as a ‘package’ rather than standalone options, five multi-modal packages were developed and assessed. The packages were developed using an ‘area based’ approach to suit the varying needs of local communities and businesses along the transport corridor, and ensured no areas were unduly prioritised over others. As the current plan, the option for A96 Full Dualling has also been assessed in the Detailed Appraisal.

Throughout the appraisal the options and packages were assessed against the following two travel demand scenarios representing different future transport behaviours.

The ‘With Policy’ Scenario considers a future demand that captures policy ambitions including a 20% reduction (from 2019 levels) in car kilometres travelled by 2030, and assumes significantly reduced levels of commuting/business journeys to reflect post COVID-19 working behaviours, leading to lower levels of motorised traffic demand and emissions.

The ‘Without Policy’ Scenario considers a future demand in which no policy ambitions are captured, with less significant reductions to levels of commuting/business journeys, leading to higher levels of motorised traffic demand and emissions.

Full Details of the Preliminary and Detailed Appraisals are included in:

Strategic Environmental Assessment

Strategic Environmental Assessment

Environment is a key consideration of the A96 Corridor Review. Detailed assessments have been undertaken, where required, so that decision makers are able to consider all environmental impacts within the corridor. These detailed assessments have been undertaken as part of our Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and its Non-Technical Summary.

SEA is a means of systematically assessing plans, programmes or strategies (PPS) that are likely to have significant environmental effects, if implemented. An SEA ‘screening’ exercise determined that the A96 Corridor Review could also potentially lead to significant environmental effects in the same way that PPS could.

Full Dualling and each of the packages were assessed against a series of SEA Objectives that covered a wide variety of environmental topics and associated sub-criteria. The SEA objectives were specifically developed to focus on the environmental conditions and issues most pertinent to the A96 Corridor Study Area. Digital mapping of all environmental constraints within the study area was used to inform the assessment.

Please read the SEA Main Report for full details of the SEA process, findings and next steps.

A96 Corridor Review Strategic Environmental Assessment – Scoping Report

We've produced a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Scoping Report to give information on the environmental topics that are to be included in the SEA. The SEA will assess the likely significant effects of this project on the environment. The Scoping Report also outlines the baseline data, relevant plans, policies and proposed methodology that will be used in the SEA.

A96 Corridor Review Strategic Environmental Assessment – Screening Determination

As per Section 8(1) of the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005, Transport Scotland has undertaken a screening exercise to determine the need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the A96 Corridor Review.

The SEA Screening Report concluded that the A96 Corridor Review would be likely to lead to significant environmental effects and therefore an SEA would be required. After reviewing the SEA Screening Report, the SEA Consultation Authorities (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland) agreed with this outcome. Therefore, Transport Scotland, as the Responsible Authority, has determined that the A96 Corridor Review will be subject to an SEA.

For further information on the SEA please contact SEA_Gateway@gov.scot.

Climate Compatibility Assessment

The A96 Climate Compatibility Assessment looks at how well the Detailed Appraisal packages align with climate change criteria.

A bespoke methodology and set of criteria were developed to undertake the assessment based on best practice and is informed by relevant national and local policy and strategy. The methodology includes a set of criteria under the two themes of climate change adaptation and resilience, and climate change mitigation. The assessment considered the extent to which:

  • each package supported adaptation/resilience to the predicted impacts of climate change both within the package of measures itself and the surrounding environment
  • packages were able to support decarbonisation efforts within the transport network and the associated construction sector
  • the land use required for each package could have a positive contribution to carbon storage and sequestration

The methodology provides a narrative assessment that seeks to establish the alignment or otherwise of the proposals with the identified climate change criteria. As such, the narrative assessments do not provide a definitive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to an option being compatible or aligned to the particular climate change criteria. The criteria assessments are not combined to provide a collective impact for a package. This is due to intricacies of the subject and because the assessment does not include consideration of wider economic or environmental impacts.

For more information about the climate impacts of the transport packages, please read the Climate Compatibility Assessment.

Statutory Impact Assessments & Partial BRIA

Three assessments measuring the social and equality impacts of the transport options and packages were undertaken as part of the A96 Corridor Review. These were:

Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA)

As a public body, Transport Scotland has a legal responsibility when creating new plans and policies to pay due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) included within the Equality Act 2010. The PSED aims to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote equality and cohesion between different groups and advance equality of opportunity. An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) report has been prepared to determine if the packages of transport interventions being considered might lead to any potential impacts on protected characteristic groups and helps demonstrate Transport Scotland’s due regard to the PSED. 

The EqIA recommends that any individual transport interventions taken forward to enhance the A96 should undergo further detailed assessment, including engagement and consultation with protected characteristic groups to enhance the positive impacts and reduce any negative impacts.

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)

As a public body, Transport Scotland has a legal duty when creating new plans and policies to pay due regard to children and young people, as per the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) report has been prepared to determine if the packages of transport intervention options being considered might lead to any potential impacts on children and young people and helps demonstrate Transport Scotland’s due regard to Section 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act.

The CRWIA recommends that any individual transport interventions taken forward to enhance the A96 should undergo further detailed assessment, including engagement and consultation with children and young people to enhance the positive impacts and reduce any negative impacts.

Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA)

As a public body, Transport Scotland has a legal responsibility when creating new plans and policies to pay due regard to the Fairer Scotland Duty, set out in Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010. A Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA) report has been prepared to determine if the packages of transport intervention options being considered might lead to any potential impacts on socio-economically disadvantaged groups and help to reduce inequalities of outcome resulting from socio-economic disadvantage. It demonstrates Transport Scotland’s due regard to the Fairer Scotland Duty.

The FSDA recommends that any individual transport interventions taken forward to enhance the A96 should undergo further detailed assessment, including engagement and consultation with socio- economically disadvantaged groups to enhance the positive impacts and reduce any negative impacts.

Partial Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) helps to assess the likely costs, benefits, and risks of any proposed primary or secondary legislation, voluntary regulation, codes of practice, guidance, or policy changes that may have an impact on the public, private or third sector (such as charities, community groups and other non-profit-making organisations). A BRIA Toolkit and Template have been developed by Scottish Government to provide guidance and information for completing a BRIA. This guidance encourages the preparation of a Partial BRIA to inform consultation with stakeholders. Due to the high-level nature of the A96 Corridor Review proposals at this stage, a Partial BRIA has been undertaken.

The Partial BRIA sets out the purpose, objective and rationale for the A96 Corridor Review, legislative context, a baseline summary of key business and economic issues and evidence, stakeholder engagement activities, a screening of potential impacts to businesses, consumers, and organisations in the public and third sector and high-level conclusions and considerations. The Partial BRIA is to be used to consult more widely with stakeholders at this stage, with the expectation that more detailed work can be undertaken on any transport intervention options to be taken forward.

It is recommended that the Partial BRIA, and the feedback from stakeholder and public consultation, be used to inform the development of a full BRIA for transport options to be taken forward.

Note that an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) has not been undertaken due to the geographic location of the A96 corridor.

Reports, Assessments and Publications

Reports published for consultation

Previous reports

  • Strategic Environmental Assessment Screening Report – this concluded that the A96 Corridor Review would be likely to lead to significant environmental effects and therefore an SEA was required. This was agreed with the SEA Consultation Authorities (Scottish Environment Protection Agency, NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland) and Transport Scotland, as the Responsible Authority.
  • A96 Corridor Review Strategic Environmental Assessment - Scoping Report – This report provides information on the environmental topics that are to be included in the SEA. It also outlines the baseline data, relevant policies and proposed methodology that will be used in the SEA.
  • Initial Case for Change – December 2022 – this report constitutes the first phase of the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and provides the evidence base for problems and opportunities linked to the transport network across all modes.
  • Stakeholder & Public Engagement Consultation Report – December 2022 - this report details how the A96 Corridor Review team consulted and gathered feedback from the public and stakeholders. It also provides a summary and analysis of the feedback received from the public consultation which ran for four weeks from 12 May to 10 June 2022 and included briefing sessions with key stakeholders running in parallel with the public consultation.

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