Road widening work carried out for the Strategic Timber Transport Scheme: EIR release
- Published
- 31 January 2025
- FOI reference
- EIR/202500447153
- Date received
- 20 December 2024
- Date responded
- 22 January 2025
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
I am looking for Information on Road Widening Works carried out for the Strategic Timber Transport Scheme.
I know that the A816 in Argyll has been widened in parts over the last couple of years.
Specifically, I am looking for any documented items that could give me information for Widening works carried out between January 2022 - April 2023, for the stretch of the A816 between Loch Feochan East Carpark PA34 4QP to The Knipoch House Hotel PA34 4QT.
I would be looking for the Start and Completion Dates, what works were carried out, and, if possible who carried the works out.
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.
I am looking for Information on Road Widening Works carried out for the Strategic Timber Transport Scheme.
I know that the A816 in Argyll has been widened in parts over the last couple of years.
Specifically, I am looking for any documented items that could give me information for Widening works carried out between January 2022 - April 2023, for the stretch of the A816 between Loch Feochan East Carpark PA34 4QP to The Knipoch House Hotel PA34 4QT.
I would be looking for the Start and Completion Dates, what works were carried out, and, if possible who carried the works out.
We have interpreted the question as being specific to carriageway widening works on the A816 at the locations specified within the 2021-2023 STTS cycle, therefore this request covers two years’ worth of schemes.
The Strategic Timber Transport Scheme (STTS) is an annual competitive fund which is managed on behalf of Scottish Government by Scottish Forestry with the aim of reducing the impacts of Timber Transport through improvement projects delivered through cofunding partnerships with Local Authority roads departments.
Thorough searches of relevant data and correspondence in these repositories identified that there is no information held as the request is worded in that two schemes were carried out, but the works conducted in the specified area at that time had no widening activities and were focused on carriageway surfacing with associated safety markings. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because of exceptions under regulations 10(4) (a) of the EIRs (information not held) applies to some of the information you have requested. Please see Annex A for the reason this exception applies.
As the STTS is an annual fund and is managed on a cyclical basis, Scottish Forestry do not hold specific data on start and end dates beyond the contracted award date and end date which are aligned to the financial year. The public road works as mentioned were contracted with and carried out by Argyll and Bute Council. On that basis, we would recommend that the enquirer contacts Argyll and Bute Council for further or more specific information. The following contacts Callum.Robertson@argyll-bute.gov.uk or Stuart.Watson@argyll-bute.gov.uk as listed on their website Argyll Timber Transport Group Contact Details | Argyll and Bute Council are best placed to provide further support at this time.
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