Next steps

Overview of next steps

The current commitment of the Scottish Government is to fully dual the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen and as part of this process Transport Scotland has been undertaking a transparent, evidenced-based review of the programme. The A96 Corridor Review (the ‘Review’) has been undertaken in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, which is the best practice, objective-led approach to transport appraisal and provides a consistent framework to identify and appraise transport interventions. The draft outcomes from the Review were published for consultation on 28 November 2024.

The 12-week consultation, which gave the public and other stakeholders the opportunity to fully consider and respond to the findings of the appraisal, ended on Friday 21 February 2025 and received over 1,400 responses. A detailed analysis of the feedback has been undertaken and the results of the public consultation are presented within this report.

The feedback received from members of the public and stakeholders, along with the draft outcomes from the Review, will be key in helping inform the Scottish Government’s final decision on how best to take forward improvements to the A96 corridor.