Executive summary

The Scottish Government’s current favoured position is to dual the A96, and as part of this process Transport Scotland has been undertaking a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme. The A96 Corridor Review (‘the Review’) has been carried out in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) , which is the best practice, objective-led approach to transport appraisal.

The detailed appraisal stage and draft outcomes from the Review was published for consultation in November 2024 and the feedback received will help inform the Scottish Government’s final decision on how best to take forward improvements to the A96 corridor.

The detailed appraisal stage of the Review considered a range of options including the Scottish Government’s current commitment of Full Dualling of the A96, and a multi-modal package of transport interventions referred to as the ‘Refined Package’. The Refined Package comprised of the following interventions:

  • Active Communities
  • Improved Public Transport Passenger Interchange Facilities
  • Investment in Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS)
  • Linespeed, Passenger and Freight Capacity Improvements on the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Line
  • Targeted Road Safety Improvements
  • Elgin Bypass
  • Keith Bypass
  • A96 Electric Corridor

A 12-week consultation on the draft outcomes of the Review took place from 28 November 2024 to 21 February 2025 and aligned with the publication of a full suite of the Review’s documents. These documents can be viewed on Transport Scotland’s website .

This 12-week consultation followed an initial round of consultation held between 12 May and 10 June 2022, which informed the development of the A96 Corridor Review Case for Change (Dec 2022) . For more information on the initial consultation and its findings, please see the A96 Corridor Review Stakeholder & Public Engagement Consultation Report (2022).

Consultation and Engagement

The Review’s interactive website , or “ StoryMap ”, supported the consultation by providing information on the project background, the Review process, including the initial consultation undertaken, and a summary of the draft outcomes of the Review. A dedicated Transport Scotland webpage was also available with links to the full suite of published Review documents, the online feedback survey, and the project email address for submitting comments.

A series of stakeholder briefings were held to present a summary of the draft outcomes of the Review and provide a forum for attendees to raise questions on the material presented. Stakeholders were encouraged to comment on the draft outcomes of the Review’s appraisal and assessment work, including the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), the Climate Compatibility Assessment (CCA), and the suite of Statutory Impact Assessments (SIAs).

Feedback Analysis

In total, 1,441 responses were received - 1,409 via the online feedback survey and 32 directly by email, referred to as ‘additional feedback’. All postcodes provided by respondents via the online feedback form were in Scotland, with the majority in the north-east, and within the defined A96 study area.

Stakeholder feedback

As part of the consultation, feedback was provided by various stakeholder groups. From the 32 pieces of additional feedback received, 12 were identified as being from stakeholders, and likewise of the 1,409 responses to the online feedback survey, five were identified as being from stakeholders. The summary below outlines the feedback provided by each group. Please note that these summaries are not necessarily representative of all feedback received by each organisation, and that detailed summaries are included within the main report:

  • Local Authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships – feedback from stakeholders in this group included support for the Scottish Government’s current commitment of Full Dualling and for implementing the Refined Package alongside it. There was also support from stakeholders for prioritising dual carriageway bypasses of Elgin and Keith, and for other interventions in the Refined Package such as Public Transport Passenger Interchange Facilities, Linespeed, Passenger and Freight Capacity Improvements on the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Line and Targeted Road Safety Improvements. Concerns were raised by stakeholders about the suitability, funding, and delivery of the Active Communities intervention, and that local and regional perspectives had not been sufficiently reflected in key aspects of the Review’s appraisal process.
  • Business groups – feedback from stakeholders in this group included support for the Linespeed, Passenger and Freight Capacity Improvements on the Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Line within the Refined Package, and for the Scottish Government’s current commitment to Full Dualling. Support was also expressed by stakeholders for dual carriageway bypasses of Elgin and Keith and for implementing Targeted Road Safety Improvements. Concerns were raised by stakeholders about delays to upgrading the A96, the perceived impact on the north-east regional economy, and their view that there is an urgent need to upgrade the A96 to support regional transformation.
  • Other stakeholders – a healthcare provider commented on the need to upgrade the A96 to improve access to healthcare services, emphasising the importance of more affordable and accessible local transport to reduce reliance on private cars and address barriers to using public transport and active travel infrastructure. A rail network operator supported the draft outcomes of the Review, and requested that the Active Communities and Improved Public Transport Passenger Interchange Facilities interventions be integrated into the wider rail network.
  • Statutory and non-statutory environmental bodies - Stakeholders in this group were generally content with the outcomes of the draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and acknowledged the need for additional environmental assessment at any future detailed design stages.

Online survey feedback

Key findings from the 1409 online survey feedback responses include:

  • 13% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the draft outcomes of the Review; 76% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.
  • When asked about the package of interventions included in the Refined Package, the public expressed, in order of preference, support for an Elgin bypass, Keith bypass, Targeted Road Safety Improvements and rail improvements as their top four priorities.

Feedback Themes

The analysis work undertaken for responses to the open questions included within the online feedback survey (Questions 6-9) identified 12 themes within the responses provided. These themes, and a short summary of the topics that were identified within each, are as outlined below. Please note that this list of themes is in alphabetical order, however subsequent sections report the feedback from these themes in order of frequency that they were identified within respondent’s feedback:

  • Active Travel – including references to the Active Communities intervention within the Refined Package and any other active travel suggestions or references.
  • Bypasses – including support or opposition to named bypasses (for example Elgin and Keith) and requests for other towns to be bypassed.
  • Climate Change/draft Climate Compatibility Assessment (CCA) – including references to climate change policy, interventions within the Refined Package, and to the draft CCA.
  • Consultation – including references to the promotion, methodology and adequacy of the consultation undertaken as part of the Review.
  • Environment/draft Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) – including references to environmental impacts and mitigation, and to the draft SEA.
  • General comments on the draft Review outcomes - including support for or opposition to the draft outcomes of the Review, where no reference was made to any specific criteria of the Review, such as safety, environment, and climate change.
  • Inclusive and accessible travel along the A96 corridor – including references to current accessibility barriers to travel along the corridor, along with suggestions for creating more inclusive and accessible travel.
  • Journey times/congestion along the A96 corridor – including references to the causes and potential solutions to congestion along the corridor.
  • Quality of public transport services – including support or opposition to interventions which seek to improve the quality of public transport along the corridor.
  • Safety along the A96 corridor – including references to perceived safety concerns along the current A96, along with support for or opposition to the draft outcomes of the Review that relate to safety.
  • Social and economic impacts – including references to the social and economic impacts of the Review for businesses, growth and the communities along the corridor.
  • Transport connectivity along the A96 corridor – including references to the connectivity between towns and settlements along the A96.

A summary of the most commonly identified themes in responses to each open question included within the online feedback survey (Questions 6-9) is provided below. Please note, that responses to Questions 6-9 from the five stakeholders who provided their feedback via the online feedback survey are not included in the summary below, and have been included in the stakeholder feedback section. A comprehensive analysis of the responses received is provided within Section 4.5 of the main report.

Question 6 - Do you have any further comments?

  • General comments on the draft Review outcomes: Identified in 59% of the 1,122 responses received to Question 6. Feedback from respondents included their broad support for Full Dualling, concern over the time taken to complete the Review, and general dissatisfaction with the draft outcomes. Respondents expressed their views on the adequacy of the draft outcomes in addressing the geographic and transport challenges of the north-east, and that they consider the Review had a pre-determined, cost-driven outcome.
  • Social and economic impacts: Identified in 31% of the 1,122 responses received to Question 6. Feedback from respondents included their views on the north-east and Highlands being neglected in comparison with other regions of Scotland. Respondents also commented that they consider Full Dualling as necessary to support economic development, improve access to jobs, and attract future investment along the corridor.
  • Safety along the A96 corridor: Identified in 30% of the 1,122 responses to Question 6. Feedback from respondents included their support for Full Dualling to improve safety and reduce collisions, particularly through the removal of unsafe overtaking. Specific concerns were raised by respondents about speeding, access for emergency services, and delays caused by congestion.

Question 7 - Please note here any comments you wish to make on the overall findings of the Draft Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental (SEA) Report for the A96 Corridor Review:

  • General comments on the draft Review outcomes: Identified in 41% of the 620 responses received to Question 7. Feedback from respondents included their support for Full Dualling, general dissatisfaction with the draft outcomes of the Review, and with the time taken to complete the Review.
  • Environment and draft SEA: Identified in 31% of the 620 responses received to Question 7. Respondents expressed their views that they consider the SEA conclusions were not reflective of future transport requirements, such as the shift to electric vehicles. Respondents also questioned the assumptions made around behaviour change and modal shift, and expressed their views that they thought the draft SEA emphasised environmental impacts too much compared to social and economic factors.
  • Social and economic impacts: Identified in 13% of the 620 responses received to Question 7. Feedback from respondents included their views on the adequacy of the draft outcomes in meeting the needs of the north-east, and that they consider that Full Dualling would deliver wider benefits not fully considered in the SEA analysis.

Question 8 - Are there any particular environmental issues, problems or opportunities you would like to mention that you feel have not been captured within the Draft Environmental Report?

  • Environment and the SEA-related feedback: Identified in 33% of the 513 responses received to Question 8. Feedback from respondents included their view that emissions caused by congestion and poor traffic flow had not been fully addressed in the draft SEA. Full Dualling was also raised by respondents as a potential solution to reduce emissions and improve air quality.
  • General comments on the draft Review outcomes: Identified in 19% of the 513 responses received to Question 8. Feedback from respondents included their support for Full Dualling, and their general dissatisfaction with the draft outcomes of the Review, and their opinion that there is a bias within the draft outcomes to justify cancelling the current commitment to fully dual the road.
  • Journey times/congestion: Identified in 11% of the 513 responses received to Question 8. Respondents raised their concerns about the current levels of traffic on the A96 and their views on the effectiveness of the Refined Package in reducing congestion. Respondents also suggested interventions not included within the Refined Package to improve journey time reliability along the corridor.

Question 9 - Do you have any feedback or comments on the draft Equality Impact Assessment, Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment and/or Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment?

  • General comments on the draft Review outcomes: Identified in 30% of the 459 responses received to Question 9. Feedback from respondents included their support for Full Dualling, their general dissatisfaction with the draft outcomes of the Review, and their views on the time taken to produce the Statutory Impact Assessments (SIA). Respondents also expressed their views on the relevance of SIAs in shaping decisions on transport infrastructure delivery.
  • Social and economic impacts: Identified in 21% of the 459 responses received to Question 9. Feedback from respondents included their view that the specific needs of the north-east and Highlands were not fully reflected in the assessment criteria. Respondents also commented that, in their opinion, the appraisal process did not give sufficient weight to economic growth or access to transport.
  • Consultation : Identified in 11% of the 459 responses received to Question 9. Feedback from respondents included comments on the perceived cost and value of the consultation, concerns about the relevance of the survey questions, and the accessibility of consultation materials.

Questions 6-9 - Support for Full Dualling

  • 63% of respondents expressed their support for the Scottish Government’s current commitment to fully dual the A96 corridor, although this wasn’t specifically asked in the online feedback survey. This figure was identified through the analysis of open question responses in the survey which allowed people to submit comments.

Additional feedback

In addition to the survey responses received, a total of 32 emails were received during the consultation period, including feedback from stakeholders and members of the public. Of the 32 emails, 20 were identified as additional feedback. The other 12 emails received were from stakeholders who attended a briefing session and their feedback is summarised in the stakeholder feedback section.

Themes identified within the 20 additional feedback emails closely reflected those raised via the online survey.