Demolitions and demolition criteria on A96 dualling project: EIR release

Information requested

How many properties have been, or will be demolished in the construction of the A9 dualling project and at what distance from the carriageway is it deemed appropriate to demolish a property?
Will exactly the same demolition criteria be applied to properties on the A96 Dualling project and if not, why not?

Response

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.

How many properties have been, or will be demolished in the construction of the A9 dualling project?
To date, 1 residential property has been demolished and it is currently anticipated a further 5 properties are to be demolished in future construction contracts on the A9 dualling programme.
However, please note this excludes the section of the A9 Dualling between Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing. A preferred route option for the A9 Dualling Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing scheme is anticipated to be identified later this year, therefore it is too early to confirm the number of properties that may be demolished on this section.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have all the information you have requested as a preferred option for the A9 Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing scheme is anticipated to be identified later this year.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the total number of properties to be demolished as a result of the A9 dualling programme we cannot provide information which we do not hold on the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section.

At what distance from the carriageway is it deemed appropriate to demolish a property?
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested as there is no set distance from a Trunk Road carriageway which it is deemed appropriate to demolish a property.

This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the distance from a Trunk Road carriageway it is deemed appropriate to demolish a property we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

I can however advise that there are various reasons for demolition other than the distance from the carriageway, for example the provision of side roads, access tracks and drainage requirements such as SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) ponds and culverts. When deciding which properties should be demolished this is done on a case by case basis during the design and assessment process.

Will exactly the same demolition criteria be applied to properties on the A96 Dualling project and if not, why not?
A similar case by case approach will be used when consideration is given to properties affected by the A96 dualling.

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