Costs associated with the work at the RABT: EIR release

Information requested

I would like to understand the costs associated with the work at the RABT because there have been a number of conflicting reports about costs. I would like to know the following costs, but I am happy to be provided with sub totals if the specific breakdown of costs are summarised differently as long as they include all of the following:

1. Total cost of carriageway repairs, dealing with landslides and constructing catch pits at the RABT since 2012 including an estimate of cost to complete the current work.
2. Total cost spent on upgrading and maintaining the OMR since 2012 including the construction of the Bunds to protect the road from landslides.
3. Costs of rent paid to the land owner for the use of the OMR August 2020 to date.
4. Cost of traffic management (convoys, lights and hill watchers) since August 2020.
5. Actual or estimated cost of tree planting currently underway to completion.
6. Cost of survey work conducted at glen Crow since August 2020 to determine the short, medium and long term solutions.
7. Cost of the work at Glen Kinglas to dispose of waste material from the RABT since it started in 2021.

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response

Please find below figures requested. To aid with my response I have retained the numbering from your request above:

1. £16,002,253.34. This includes the estimated costs for the completion of Catch Pit 3b.
2. £3,409,780.22
3. £648,805.42.
4. £4,703,137.11
5. £1,100,907. This is the combined estimated costs for Transport Scotland and Forestry Land Scotland over 15 years starting in 2020
6. £1,462,470. 
7. £54,810.57

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